MIDDLE EAST: Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon said last night he was no longer bound by a pledge he gave the US President, Mr George W. Bush, not to harm the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat.
"I said during in our first meeting about three years ago that I accepted his request not to harm Arafat physically," Mr Sharon told Israel's Channel 2. "But I am released from this commitment. I release myself from this commitment regarding Arafat." The US responded by saying it still opposed the assassination of Mr Arafat.
Meanwhile, four Palestinians were killed yesterday by Israeli forces in the latest surge of violence in the region, bringing to more than 20 the number of Palestinians killed over the last four days.
Three men associated with the Palestinian leader's Fatah movement were shot dead during an arrest raid by Israeli troops who entered the West Bank town of Qalqilyah. The army said the three, who were unarmed, were militants and were killed after refusing to heed warning shots and calls to stop. But witnesses insisted that at least two of them were Fatah political activists.
Another Palestinian was killed when soldiers and militants exchanged fire during an arrest operation in a village near the West Bank town of Nablus. Palestinian news agencies reported that the dead man was Dr Yasser Ahmed Abu Laimun (32), a lecturer at the Arab-American University in Jenin. The army said the he was a Hamas militant.