Communicated
by the Cabinet Secretariat
Jerusalem----October
18.....The Cabinet released the following statement late yesterday
evening
following the assassination of Tourism Minister Rechavam Zeevy early
yesterday morning:
1. The Government
and people of Israel are shocked and outraged by the cold-blooded
assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
Tonight, we
mourn together with his family.
The murder of
a member of the Israeli Cabinet and Knesset crosses all red lines.
No democracy can tolerate such an attack on its elected officials.
The responsibility lies squarely with Arafat and the Palestinian
Authority.
2. The writing
was on the wall.
The Popular
Front announced that it was planning terrorist attacks - but Chairman
Arafat and the Palestinian Authority did nothing.
Israel included
Popular Front leaders on the list of terrorist fugitives submitted
to Arafat - but, again, he did nothing.
Israel began,
this week, to withdraw its forces and ease restrictions - serving
only to open the door for terrorists to slip through.
In the interest
of creating calm and advancing the cause of peace, and at the urging
of our friends in the international community, we held meetings
with Chairman Arafat, roadblocks were removed, and Israeli forces
withdrew from Hebron.
But the Palestinians
only reciprocated with violence and murder. Many promises were
made, but only little steps were taken to prevent terror.
3. The time
for words has ended, and the time for deeds has come.
Israel demands
the extradition of those responsible for today's assassination,
and expects this to be carried out immediately.
We also demand
that the terrorist organizations operating in the Palestinian areas
be disarmed and dismantled. Arafat must not shelter them any longer.
Failure to meet
these demands, which are grounded in signed agreements between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority, will leave us with no choice but
to view the Palestinian Authority as an entity supporting and sponsoring
terror, and to act accordingly.
Israel, meanwhile,
will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety
of its citizens.
4. There
can be no compromise with terror. It must be eradicated, without
distinction between its perpetrators and those who harbor them.
The terrorists
and their sponsors, including Arafat, must be told, unequivocally,
that their crimes will not be tolerated by the civilized world.
We demand that
Arafat stop his double-talk, and take serious and concrete action
against the terrorist factions operating freely in the Palestinian
Authority.
5. Israel
shares the commitment of the international community to peace and
stability. And we want peace with the Palestinian people. But peace
and stability will not be achieved without decisive action from
Arafat to halt terror.
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