SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: Well, firstly, let me tell you that this is a black day for the United Nations, it's a black day for the rule of law, a black day for the forces of moderation in this region because, when we seek to go to the United Nations and Security Council, we're seeking the help of the nations on earth to help us in solving our problems peacefully and through peaceful means, through negotiated means. Now, if the United States decides to close this door, and I hope that the Israeli Government will not interpret the American decision to kill the draft resolution as a licence to kill Arafat.

MARK DAVIS: Well, the vote you're talking about is, of course, the UN Security Council, which was to condemn Israel for calling for President Arafat's removal. America vetoed that. Has that effectively sealed Arafat's fate?

SAEB EREKAT: Well, I think it's ultimate, if someone looks at what Israel's endgame - Prime Minister Sharon - I remember in 1998, we were in Wye River with President Clinton and there was not an intifada, there was no conflict, there was a peace process and President Arafat presented his hand to shake hands with Sharon and hear his views in front of President Clinton at that time. So the endgame here is to destroy the peace process, destroy the road map, kill Arafat and resume occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and, at that moment, the scenario will be - is that the Palestinian Authority will be undermined, Palestinian extremists and militias will take over our towns, villages and refugee camps and start killing moderates like myself and, at that moment, maybe Mr Sharon will stand up on Australian TV to say, "I want peace and I want to make the painful concessions for peace, but I don't have partners." And I wonder if you'll ask him, "But you had a partner that had recognised Israel's right to exist in 78% of historic Palestine and you killed him."

MARK DAVIS: What is the mood in the compound now? Is an attack expected and are there preparations being made for that?

SAEB EREKAT: Well, I said we are a people with no army, no navy, no air force, no arms. It's people, thousands of people, who are feeling, sensing the sense of urgency, fearing for the president of their life - the life of their president, trying to protect their democratic choice, because Arafat is the elected leader of the Palestinian people. They come to the compound and they rally around the compound. But I'm afraid that, if the Israelis decide to send two to three tanks - you see the compound behind me - as I said, we have been witnessing the most disproportionate use of force in the history of mankind and we are the ones who are under occupation and now the US tries to cover for Israel and its policies.

MARK DAVIS: Well, Israel is now saying they do not plan to assassinate President Arafat but if they do storm the compound to arrest him, what's the likely result?

SAEB EREKAT: Well, I don't think he will be arrested. I don't think he will accept to be arrested or to be deported or to be jailed. I think they'll kill him. That's inevitable. They will kill him and that's their endgame and then - the world doesn't realise now, and all this discreditation of the Palestinian leadership, that it was indeed President Arafat who signed - who became the first Palestinian leader to sign on Israel's recognition - Israel's right to exist in 78% of historic Palestine. It was President Arafat who did that. So, if they kill Arafat, which they will in my opinion, do they expect to find Palestinians to say the word 'peace' in the next five decades? Or is that precisely what Mr Sharon wants? In order to continue the settlement activities, the fait accompli policies and the occupation and the political blindness we've been witnessing.

MARK DAVIS: But, looking back, couldn't you see this coming? Israel and America made it very clear that they were deadly serious, that the Palestinian security forces needed to be removed from Arafat's control. Why didn't you do it and why didn't you do it a month ago?

SAEB EREKAT: Sir, we - I'm standing in Ramallah. There is no security forces here. It was destroyed by the Israelis two years ago when they entered Ramallah with their tanks. They destroyed our communication centres, our command centres, our vehicles. They arrested the policemen - the few policemen we had here and this is the case in every town, village and refugee camp in the West Bank. Israel is totally in control and, ironically speaking, most of the suicide bombers - which we condemn by the way - came from areas under Israeli total control. They have been destroying the Palestinian Authority. So they're tying our hands, tying our legs, blindfolding us, throwing us to the sea and asking us to swim. If we don't swim, they say, "You're not a partner, you don't swim," and, if we drown, they'll say, "What good are you to us? You're drowning." This is the truth. Today, Israel tried military solutions through the means of reoccupation, tanks, destroying the Palestinian Authority, but yet suicide bombing is still happening. Maybe, and only maybe, if we get a revival of the negotiations, if the Israelis accept to come back to the negotiating table, which we have been inviting them to do so, maybe we'll have a chance because this problem will never be solved through means of tanks and settlements and wars and violence. There should be only a political solution and that is ending the Israeli occupation through a meaningful peace process.

MARK DAVIS: But the real - what appears to be the real trigger to Israel's recent action seems to be the resignation of the prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. Didn't his resignation confirm what Israel has been saying, that Arafat controlled the Palestinian security forces and didn't do enough to end terrorism?

SAEB EREKAT: Sir, sir, I was in Abu Mazen's cabinet as the minister for negotiations. Actually I told Abu Mazen, "You will eventually resign," so I resigned 10 days after, because the next day we took office, Prime Minister Sharon's army went together and killed 15 Palestinians and, ever since that day, we have never been given a moment of quiet. They continued business as usual in assassinations, demolition of homes, consecration of land, settlement activities, tightening the closure and the siege. Abu Mazen provided 50 days of truce - hudna - cease-fire, but the Israeli Government responded by continuing the assassinations, their incursions, the killings, the reoccupation. So Abu Mazen was never given a chance.

MARK DAVIS: Well, over the past couple of years, power does seem to have been receding from President Arafat and, for many Palestinians at least, that wasn't such a bad trend. Will that trend end today with President Arafat very firmly moving back into centre stage?

SAEB EREKAT: Well, you know, the question is not who rules the Palestinians, by the way. Let me put it very clearly. I don't think the Israeli Government cares if we are ruled by Attila the Hun or the boy scouts of Sydney. Here, the question is they're using this as a pretext to undermine the man's credibility, distorted the story and so on in order not to make peace, in order to continue the settlement activities, in order to continue the building of the walls, the fait accompli policies. They should have accepted what they signed on in Oslo, that is to end the Israeli occupation that began in '67. This is specified also on the road map. So the real issue here is that the Israeli Government is not ready for real peace and that is withdrawal to the June 4 '67 borders and this is why they're using Arafat or me or anybody else as a pretext, but the truth is, this government of Israel is not ready for what it takes to make peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

MARK DAVIS: Saeb Erekat thanks very much for your time.

SAEB EREKAT: Thank you.