Arafat, Mubarak ponder means to end Israeli-Palestinian violence

Arafat, Mubarak ponder means to end Israeli-Palestinian violence
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

CAIRO, NOV 22: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had talks here on Wednesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on ways of ending the violence in the Palestinian territories, Egyptian foreign minister Amr Mussa said. The talks concentrated on "the events in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Palestinian view of the developments and contacts under way in order to end the tragedy," Mussa said.

Consultations between the two sides were continuing on the "few remaining possibilities" of reviving the Middle East peace process and the conditions required for such a move, he added. The talks came a day after Egypt decided to withdraw its ambassador from Israel in protest at Israeli air and naval attacks against Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip.

Mussa said Arafat had expressed his appreciation at the move, saying that it was "a very serious message, signifying that measures can be taken to protest against Israeli policy, and that the Arabs will not remain silent while the (Israeli) aggression continues."

Israel launched the raids late on Monday in retaliation for a bomb attack on a Jewish settlers' school bus in Gaza that left two people dead and nine, mostly children, wounded. Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Bassiouni, was due to return home on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, US Defence Secretary William Cohen quoted Mubarak as saying in separate talks that he would only return when the violence ended in the Palestinian territories. "It is imperative for both sides to stop violence and to return to the table of negotiations," Mubarak said according to Cohen.