Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat alleged on Tuesday that Israeli troops raiding his compound earlier this month tried to kill him.
"They (the Israelis) committed massacres. They destroyed the offices and the compound and attempted to kill everyone in it," the Palestinian leader said during a speech to the Palestinian parliament, cited by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Arafat said he was not afraid of death. "Welcome martyrdom, welcome martyrdom, welcome martyrdom," the leader expressed.
In his speech, Arafat restated his condemnation of attacks on civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinians. He said attacks on Israelis undermine Palestinian statehood aspirations.
"The civilians, Israelis and Palestinians, they all have the right to live," Yasser Arafat stated.
"We condemn any attacks against civilians anywhere in the world. These will not resolve political problems." (Albawaba.com)
