Hardliners in the Middle East turned against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for surrendering to Israel with his call for a halt to attacks on the Jewish state. The call, issued on Sunday under intense pressure from the United States and Israel to crack down on Palestinian radicals after a string of deadly suicide bombings, amounted to capitulation, said Syria's official radio.
How can the Palestinians be asked to stop the intifada (uprising) and capitulate while Israel proclaims daily its refusal to hand the occupied territories back to their owners?, Radio Damascus asked.
Although it did not name Arafat, the commentary was seen as the first response by the Syrian leadership to the Palestinian leader's speech, which has drawn mixed reactions across the Arab world. Arafat's Palestinian authority was pressured to take measures likely to divide the Palestinians and aid Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to carry out his criminal plans, the radio said.
But it warned, even if the Palestinian authority executes every Israeli order by throwing resistance fighters into prison, Ariel Sharon 's government will not be satisfied, and will demand further unjust measures.
The official Syrian press insisted on the right of the Palestinian people to self-defence.
The Palestinian people ... Have the right to defend themselves against Israel, which is an aggressive and terrorist occupation force, wrote the government-run Tishrin Daily.
Bureau Report