The Sooner Arafat Is Dead, The Better

by John Hawkins | October 9, 2002 9:20 am

The Sooner Arafat Is Dead, The Better: Yossef Bodansky is an expert on Terrorism. Furthermore, he has now written 9 books, was a senior consultant for the US Department of Defense and the US Department of State, & was the Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare at the US House of Representatives. So we’re not talking about some whacko prone to making bizarre allegations here. The reason I’m noting all of this is because he tells a story in his new book “The High Cost of Peace” that is almost beyond belief[1]….

“During a meeting with [special negotiator Gen. Anthony] Zinni, Arafat made a special request – a personal favor. A police officer from a very important family in Gaza had just been killed at Arafat’s compound. It was imperative to get the body to Gaza for proper burial, Arafat pleaded. Zinni requested Jerusalem to make an exception to the siege. Jerusalem consented on April 7-8. However, the PA was not ready to dispatch the body until the evening of April 11 – at about the same time Powell was due to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport.

Unbeknownst to the Palestinians, Israeli security forces were following the ambulance bearing the officer’s body as it left the Ramallah area.

Their suspicions deepened when the ambulance made a “wrong turn” and headed toward Highway 1 – connecting Ben Gurion Airport and Jerusalem – instead of taking the road to Gaza. As the ambulance was about to enter Highway 1, it was ambushed and stopped by an Israeli anti-terrorist unit. A quick search netted a huge bomb installed under the policeman’s body and a martyr’s bomb-web under the seat next to the driver.

The two supposed Red Crescent medics told their interrogators that their plan was to park the ambulance near a bend in the road where Powell’s convoy was bound to slow down. They would open the vehicle’s hood as if they had an engine problem. Once the limousine got close to the ambulance, the driver was to blow it up, in the expectation that the convoy would stop and the security personnel would rush to investigate the explosion.

Exploiting the confusion, the other “medic” was to run to the limousine, try to get in, and blow himself up either inside the limousine or pressed against its exterior”

Even before I read this story I would have told you that as far as I’m concerned, the sooner Arafat is dead the better. But if this story turns out to be legitimate, I question why we haven’t made Arafat have an “accident.” No foreigner who orders the assassination of an American politician should be allowed to continue breathing. Allowing Saddam to live after trying to assassinate Bush 41 was a big mistake and if this story is true, allowing Arafat to live was the wrong thing to do.