JERUSALEM.
SECRETARY of State Colin Powell, working hard last week to save the Israeli-Palestinian truce from collapse, got some special insight from Ariel Sharon into the dubious top aides around Yasser Arafat.
“Arafat’s chief of police, for example, is a rapist,” the Israeli prime minister said.
“He raped a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who later committed suicide. But we put him on our wanted list for other crimes he committed – terrorist attacks on our people.”
Sharon went into details about the criminal adventures of Arafat’s police commissioner, Razi Jebali, during a working dinner at his official residence in Jerusalem Thursday night.
Powell was accompanied by seven top U.S. officials, including William Burns, the new assistant secretary of state for near-east affairs; Bruce Reidel, a top White House adviser on national security; and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.
Sharon told them, “When we arrive, as I hope we do, at the phase of confidence-building measures by each side, not only will the issue of freezing Jewish settlements be dealt with, but all the commitments Arafat signed and never respected.”
He specified: “Arafat has at least 60,000 armed men while he is permitted a maximum of 30,000.”
“In the confidence-building measures, he will also have to collect all the illegal mortars, guns, mines and Katyusha rockets and hand them over to U.S. representatives to be destroyed.”
He also recalled how in September 1993, on the South Lawn of the White House, Arafat promised to arrest and turn over to Israel any perpetrator of terrorist attacks – a vow that was never fulfilled.
Sharon said Israel submitted a list of dozens of names of Palestinians with Jewish “blood on their hands.” Again, no one – such as Razi Jebali – was turned over.
“In 1997, he [Jebali] raped a 16-year-old girl from one of the most respected Palestinian families in Gaza,” he said.
Arafat rushed Jebali to the West Bank town of Ramallah, away from the girl’s family.
Sharon said Jebali established a network of brothels in Ramallah. Then he created hit teams to carry out attacks on Jews.
After one attack, captured assailants confessed that they were sent by the chief of police.
When the Israelis confirmed that with other evidence, the government of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an arrest warrant for Jebali.
Fearing the Israeli secret service would grab him, Arafat brought Jebali back to Gaza and convinced his victim’s family not only to forgive him, but to create a cover story to explain their daughter’s suicide.
So when the two sides arrive at the key stage of the Mitchell peacemaking report, Israel will submit its wanted list – and Jebali’s name will be there.