Israel: Papers tie Arafat to terror

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israel has handed evidence to the United States that it says shows direct involvement by Yasser Arafat and his top aides in terror attacks. An aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also said yarmulkes and other disguises were found in the office of the Palestinian security chief.

Palestinians dismissed the documents presented by Israel as propaganda and "rubbish."

"It is part of the war games they are playing," Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said. "They are just inventing things because they believe the outside world is ignorant."

The documents were seized during Israel’s 2-week-old military offensive in the West Bank, Israeli officials said. Israeli forces have taken over large areas of Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, confining him to a few rooms. They also have searched other Palestinian security headquarters, including that of West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub.

"We have documents linking Arafat and his top aides directly to organizing, directing and financing terror," said Sharon adviser Danny Ayalon.

The Israeli military has posted English translations of several such documents on its Internet site — www.idf.il. Israeli officials said they handed the United States the Arabic originals and English translations.

Two documents purportedly show that Arafat authorized payments in recent months to militants wanted in Israel. The documents are said to include a handwritten note by Arafat approving the allocation of funds.

An Israeli intelligence officer, Col. Miri Eisin, said another document was found in the office of Fuad Shobaki, chief financial officer for the Palestinian Authority.

Sent by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, it details costs incurred by the militant group and requests money for various activities, including the assembly of nine bombs a week.