THE MIDDLE EAST: The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, last night accused the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, of "direct" responsibility for a massive shipment of Iranian weaponry seized by the Israeli navy late last week.
Speaking at a press conference at the port of Eilat, with the vast haul of weaponry laid out behind him, Mr Sharon said Mr Arafat was a "bitter enemy" who had "made a strategic choice: to bring about regional deterioration which would lead to war".
Israel has already branded Mr Arafat "irrelevant", but it would now have to reassess its entire relationship with the Palestinian Authority, the prime minister said, since Mr Arafat had become "a major player in the network of international terrorism, spearheaded by Iran, and aimed at sowing death and destruction worldwide".
Mr Sharon also issued a veiled threat to Iran itself, saying that Israel was closely monitoring all its "terrorist" activities, including its progress towards nuclear self-sufficiency, and was ready to take "whatever steps are necessary" to protect itself.
Mr Arafat and his aides continue to deny any involvement in the shipment.
"We are very sure that these accusations and fabrications against the Palestinian Authority are unfounded," said Mr Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian peace negotiator.
Privately, Palestinian officials acknowledge that four of the 13 crew members on board the seized Karine-A, all of whom are being held by Israel, are members of its naval police force, but they say the four were acting on their own initiative. Iran has also denied any connection to the affair.
Bush administration officials were quoted at the weekend as suggesting that the weaponry was destined for the Lebanon-based Hizbullah.
But US officials based in Jerusalem said they were now "under the impression" that the 50 tons of materiel had been purchased by and for the Palestinian Authority.
Israel yesterday flew journalists, foreign ambassadors and military attaches to Eilat, where the Karine-A was unloaded over the weekend, to inspect the ship and its cargo of rockets, explosives, mortars, anti-tank missiles, small arms, mines and more.
The Israeli chief of staff, Gen Shaul Mofaz, said that had the shipment reached Gaza as intended, it would have altered the military balance between Israel and the Palestinians. Katyusha rockets with a range of 20 km, found in the shipment, would have brought all of Israel's main population centres into range, he said. "We would have had no choice but to remove the threat," he said, "with all that implies." Israeli officials added that the more than two tons of C4 explosives seized were sufficient to arm 300 suicide bombers.
Financing for the entire operation, Israeli officials say, was supervised by Mr Arafat's most trusted finance official, Mr Fuad Shubaki.
Despite the weapons seizure, Mr Sharon yesterday praised the peacemaking efforts of the US envoy, Mr Anthony Zinni, who is heading back to the US today having convened a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian security officials yesterday.
Mr Zinni is expected to return in about two weeks.