Arafat offers to try alleged assassins

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has offered to put the accused killers of an Israeli Cabinet minister on trial, hoping to blunt an Israeli demand that he turn the men over to Israel for prosecution.

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Ziyad abu Zayyad, a member of the Palestinian Authority Cabinet, said Saturday, "We promise and we will make sure we will make justice with these people."

However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israeli tanks and troops will continue to surround Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, until the Palestinian leader hands over the suspects for trial. Arafat is confined to the heavily damaged compound.

Sharon's spokesman, Ra'anan Gissin, said Arafat had the chance to try the suspects but didn't, giving them sanctuary instead.

Tourism minister Rachavam Ze'evi was killed October 17 in an east Jerusalem hotel. Muhammed Rashid, an Arafat aide, recently told reporters that under the Oslo Accords, the suspects must be tried by the Palestinian Authority.

Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians are obligated to try those accused of crimes. Israel may request the transfer of suspects to Israel, but only after they've completed their sentences, if any, in a Palestinian jail.

The accords don't make any mention of a speedy trial, but the United States is said to be working to get the Palestinians to agree to a firm timetable for a trial, and trying to get the Israelis to accept that timetable and end the siege of Arafat's compound.