Arafat Touts U.N. Vote as Sign of Support

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told hundreds of supporters Saturday that a U.N. resolution condemning an Israeli decision to remove him is of the “utmost importance” as a sign of international support for the Palestinians.

At Arafat’s Ramallah compound, hundreds of Palestinians chanted, “Bush, Bush, you’re the failure,” after President Bush said last week that Arafat had failed as a leader.

Addressing the crowd, Arafat praised the 133 nations that endorsed Friday’s U.N. General Assembly resolution demanding that Israel retract its threats to “remove” Arafat. The U.S. voted against the measure.

“This decision is of the utmost importance; we thank all the countries of the world that voted in favor,” Arafat said. The resolution “shows the international community ... stands by the Palestinian people, who have lived under this occupation that does not respect any laws.”

Also on Saturday, about 2,000 people marched in the West Bank town of Hebron carrying Palestinian flags and banners that read “Arafat is our hero” and “Arafat is our leader.”

Elsewhere in the West Bank, two Palestinian gunmen were killed in Tulkarm in clashes between rival factions of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, Palestinian security officials said.

Israeli officials dismissed the U.N. General Assembly resolution and said the Palestinians should focus on fighting terrorism.

In Tel Aviv, several thousand Israelis marched to the Defense Ministry, protesting their government’s tough policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and calling for an end to occupation. In the last three years of fighting against Palestinian militants, Israeli troops have reoccupied most West Bank towns, imposed stringent travel bans on civilians and carried out frequent arrest raids.

Despite such protests, polls suggest that most Israelis support the government’s policies.