Top Israeli security officials on several occasions since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising discussed the possibility of assassinating Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israel's military chief has revealed.
Those discussions did not reach any practical planning stage and no preparations were made for an attempt on Arafat's life, Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper reported Monday.
The remarks by Army Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon marked the first time a senior Israeli official has openly talked of plans to kill Arafat.
"Why did we not kill Arafat? The truth is that the discussion whether or not to kill Arafat was debated a number of times in the past," Yaalon told a chamber of commerce meeting in the southern city of Beersheba on Sunday.
"The subject was debated in terms of costs and benefits," Yaalon said. "It is correct that occasionally we need to reevaluate if our cost and benefit assessments were correct or not." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
