Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, said on Wednesday he was prepared to take action against armed groups if Israel stopped missile attacks and other operations against them.
"I am prepared to implement the law on condition Israel stops its attacks," Arafat said in an interview with Reuters.
The Palestinian leader noted he would not risk an internal civil war. He told the news agency he had ordered the arrests of Hamas and other top activists earlier and that he would do so again, but not while Israel continued with its raids.
Arafat said he wanted to embrace the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and called on the Bush administration to pressure on Israel. "Isn't the road map binding on Israel too? We were in control many times including our success in reaching a cease-fire but it was violated many times in a persistent and rude manner by most Israeli political and military leaders," he said, during the interview. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
