Sharon: Israel at war, Arafat to blame

Sharon in his televised address: Arafat is "the enemy of Israel and the enemy of the free world."

JERUSALEM (CNN) – Israel is engaged in "a war against terrorism" in a cycle of violence for which Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is to blame, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday.

"This terrorism is being directed, promoted, initiated by one person, Yasser Arafat," Sharon said in a nationally televised address. "Yasser Arafat is the head of a coalition of terrorism. He operates an infrastructure of terrorism.

"Yasser Arafat is the enemy of Israel and the enemy of the free world."

Later, in an interview on "60 Minutes," Sharon said he remains open to peace talks, and expressed willingness to discuss the Saudi peace initiative with Arab leaders if President Bush invited him to Washington to do so.

The Saudi plan, in its broadest terms, offers Israel security and "normal relations" with the Arab world in exchange for a withdrawal from territories Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War; creation of an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds al-Shareef (East Jerusalem) as its capital; and the "return of refugees." (More details)

The Saudi plan is "important, but now we have to see what details are there," Sharon said.

Arafat is not so important to peace proposals now, Sharon said. "I don't think we have to deal with him anymore," he said.

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Asked whether he hated Arafat, Sharon answered, "No." The military action against Arafat in his compound does not arise from any personal vendetta between the two leaders, Sharon said.

Weapons reported found

The Palestinian Authority chairman's Ramallah compound, which Israeli officials say is part of a terrorist infrastructure, has been under Israeli assault since Friday. Sharon termed it "the place where instructions and orders were given for murder and killing."

Troops searching the compound discovered "big quantities of weapons," he said. Included in the find, according to Sharon: anti-tank weapons and mines – ordnance Palestinians are forbidden to have.

Iran also poses a growing threat to Israeli security, Sharon said. The nation, he said, is working increasingly with Israeli Arabs, "doing this mostly through the Islamic movement."

Because of that reputed involvement, said Sharon, the siege in Ramallah would be followed by actions against groups with Islamic ties – organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Each is a "foreign terrorist organization," according to the U.S. government.

Five days, six attacks

In his televised address, the Israeli leader said Palestinians had responded with "terrorism, terrorism and more terrorism" whenever the Israeli government tried to quell violence.

Again, he blamed Arafat for the carnage, which has increased in recent days -- six terror attacks in the last five days, including two Sunday that killed at least 14 people.

Sharon reiterated that Israel has no intention to hurt Arafat physically. He also said he felt "very bad" about Palestinian civilians killed or hurt in the fighting; they were casualties of a war Israel did not start, he said.

In the "60 Minutes" interview, Sharon said he did not feel Israel's assault on Arafat's compound had full U.S. backing -- "we have not got any green light" from the United States, he said. But, he noted, Israel never asked for it.

On Saturday, President Bush said Arafat must do more to stop violence, but did not call for the Israelis to pull out of Palestinian territory. Israel, he said, has a right to defend itself.