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01/24/2006:

"Israel killed Arafat, says Assad"

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has caused outrage by accusing Israel of assassinating former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whose death 14 months ago remains a mystery.

"Of the many assassinations that Israel carried out in a methodical and organised way, the most dangerous thing that Israel did was the assassination of president Yasser Arafat," Mr Assad told a gathering of Arab lawyers in what was billed as a speech on democratic reform.

"This was under the world's gaze and its silence, and not one state dared to issue a statement or stance towards this, as though nothing happened."
theaustralian.news.com


U.S. tells Israel it will shun PA gov't that includes Hamas
The American administration has promised Israel that the United States will not recognize any Palestinian government in which Hamas participates, government sources in Jerusalem have said.

The sources said that American envoys who visited here about 10 days ago told Israeli officials that recognizing such a government would violate American law.

Israel has also received similar messages from Javier Solana, the European Union's top foreign policy official, and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who visited Israel last week, the sources said.