Israel's Sharon: sorry Arafat was not eliminated in 1982

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in comments published Thursday Israel should have "eliminated" Yasser Arafat in 1982 when he, as defense minister, was in charge of Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

"In Lebanon it was agreed that Arafat would not be eliminated. To tell the truth, I'm sorry we didn't eliminate him," the right-wing Sharon told the Israeli newspaper Maariv.

Sharon is now facing war crimes charges in Brussels by victims in slaughter by an Israeli-allied Christian militia of hundreds of Palestinian refugees in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila camps.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, responding to Sharon's remarks on eliminating Arafat, told Reuters: "I think this reflects what has been always said -- that Sharon is trying to finish what he began in 1982, and for prime ministers to announce openly their gangster intention is a reflection of what kind of government we're dealing with."

Reacting to Sharon's remarks, the European Union "deplored and rejected" these remarks.