Jerusalem: Dismissing threats from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his life, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat today (Apr 24, 2004) claimed all those fighting for the cause of Palestine were "martyrs-in-the-waiting".

"I want to tell Sharon and his gang that the mountain cannot be shaken by the wind," he told a gathering of about 4,000 supporters flashing V-sign at his muqata (headquarters) in Ramallah.

"All of us are martyrs-in-the-waiting," he said.

The people gathered there avowed their allegiance to the leader shouting that they would sacrifice their "blood and souls" for him.

In a TV interview, Sharon yesterday said he told US President George W Bush in a White House meeting last week that he is no longer bound by a promise, made three years ago, not to harm the Palestinian leader.

Israel and the US have shunned Arafat as a partner in the peace process accusing him of fomenting violence in the region by sheltering and encouraging terror suspects.