Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said in remarks published
yesterday he was ready to talk peace with any Israeli leader and
vowed to put an end to what he called "terrorist" attacks on
Israeli civilians.
Arafat, who has been confined to his West Bank office by Israeli
tanks and is under international pressure to end militant attacks
on Israel, made his remarks in a statement published by the New
York Times.
"Palestinians are ready to end the conflict," Arafat said.
"We are ready to sit down now with any Israeli leader, regardless
of his history, to negotiate freedom for the Palestinians, a
complete end of the occupation, security for Israel and creative
solutions to the plight of the (Palestinian) refugees while
respecting Israel's demographic concerns."
"I
condemn the attacks carried out by terrorist groups against Israeli
civilians," Arafat said. "These groups do not represent the
Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations for freedom.
They are terrorist organizations, and I am determined to put an end
to their activities."
Hopes of a quick breakthrough to end 16 months of
Israeli-Palestinian violence that has killed more than 1,000 people
remain slim, despite a series of meetings between Israeli and
Palestinian officials in the past few days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian parliamentary
speaker Ahmed Korei held talks in New York and Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon met Palestinian officials.
Sharon, who was due on Sunday to brief his cabinet about the
contacts, declared Arafat "irrelevant" after a series of
Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel.
Arafat is under Israeli and American pressure to end Palestinian
attacks on Israel by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the armed wing of his own
Fatah faction.
He
also faces demands from various Palestinian groups to resist the
international demands to clamp down on militants.
The PFLP, the second biggest group in the Palestine Liberation
Organization, temporarily suspended on Saturday its membership in
the decision-making body to protest against Arafat's arrest of its
leader Ahmed Saadat.
The Damascus-based PFLP's politburo said in a statement it would
not resume activities in the PLO's executive committee headed by
Arafat until the Palestinian Authority freed its leader, Ahmed
Saadat, who was arrested about a month ago. Arafat also heads the
Authority.
"This is a conditional step...until Saadat is released," said
Abdel-Rahim Mallouh, Saadat's deputy.
Hopes of a quick breakthrough to end 16 months of
Israeli-Palestinian violence that has killed more than 1,000 people
remain slim, despite a series of meetings between Israeli and
Palestinian officials in the past few days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met Palestinian officials in
New York overnight for nearly two hours to discuss ways to end the
bloodshed, an aide to Peres said. The two sides said top security
officials also met in Jerusalem on Friday.
(China Daily February
4, 2002)