DATE=3/31/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT -

TITLE=ISRAEL / SHARON (S)

NUMBER=2-288196

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE= JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of dictating terror attacks against Israel. He made the comments in a live t-v broadcast to the Israeli people. Correspondent Laurie Kassman has more details from our Jerusalem bureau.

TEXT: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel is at war against terrorism. He says Israel must uproot the terrorist infrastructure before a ceasefire can be achieved with the Palestinians.

He calls Yasser Arafat an enemy of Israel and accuses him, in his words, of dictating terror against Israelis.

Mr. Sharon says Israel has stretched out its hand toward peace with the Palestinians but not toward terror. Prime Minister Sharon says his country is facing a decisive and difficult moment in its history but it will prevail.

Prime Minister Sharon's nationwide address comes on a day of bloodshed in which suicide bombers attacked a restaurant in the Israeli port of Haifa and a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The bombings have come while Israeli forces surround Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The military also has imposed a 48-hour curfew on the city while it continues to hunt down terrorist suspects.(Signed)

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