Sharon No Longer Bound by Pledge Not to Harm ArafatJERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) said on Friday he was no longer bound by a pledge he gave President Bush (news - web sites) not to harm Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). "I said during in our first meeting about three years ago that I accepted his request not to harm Arafat physically," Sharon told Israel's Channel 2. "But I am released from this commitment. I release myself from this commitment regarding Arafat."
Sharon gave no indication that any move against Arafat was imminent. Although the United States does not acknowledge the Palestinian leader, Washington is opposed to Israel killing him.
An advisor for Arafat, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said Sharon's statement would lead to increased tensions in the region.
"We reject Sharon's statement and demand clarification from Mr. Bush on such a statement and hold Sharon responsible for such a dangerous statement," he said. "This is an escalation and will lead to increased tensions."
Sharon said he told this to Bush last week during a meeting with him at the White House, where he received U.S. approval for his plan to unilaterally evacuate all settlements from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) and some in the West Bank.
Such tough talk could go down well among members of Sharon's right-wing Likud party who will vote on his Gaza withdrawal plan on May 2.
Sharon's televised comments expanded on similar remarks he made in a newspaper interview several weeks ago.