U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Friday noon, in the PA leader's Ramallah compound. Zinni, the first official permitted to meet with Arafat since Israel confined the Palestinian leader to a few rooms in his headquarters last week, was driven to Arafat's compound in a heavily protected convoy. He was to convey to Arafat a demand by Israel that he hand over the killers of minister Rehavam Ze'evi, assassinated in Jerusalem last October by Palestinian activists.
The meeting began shortly after 1 P.M., said a Palestinian official in Arafat's compound.
Journalists outside the compound said Friday that Israeli soldiers had used tear gas and stun grenades on reporters covering Zinni's meeting with the PA leader.
In the meeting, Zinni was to demand that Arafat hand over Fuad Shubaki, the PA official suspected of masterminding the Karine A smuggling affair.
The men are reported to be holding out in Arafat's beseiged Ramallah headquarters. Should the PA not accept the demands, Israel would be forced to take action on its own to apprehend them, reported Haaretz.
Before the meeting, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said he accepted Bush's call for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from West Bank towns as a prelude to achieving a cease-fire and peace talks.
A statement by the Palestinian leadership, carried by the official WAFA news agency, also underscored the importance of a Saudi-sponsored Arab peace plan offering to normalize relations with Israel in return for full withdrawal from Arab lands occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
"From our side, we are committed to the declaration of President Bush without conditions," the statement said.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told U.S. television network CNN that Arafat welcomed a meeting with Powell and hoped for a speedy implementation of the roadmap specified by the U.S. president.
Powell called Arafat early Friday, said Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh. He said they discussed the Bush speech, and Arafat accepted Bush's proposals.
Powell, also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) on Thursday. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres welcomed Bush "joining in the effort to bring about a cease-fire with the Palestinians in order to bring about the resumption of the peace process, which is a basic Israeli interest."
"We heard positively what the president said about the need to bring an end to terror. We welcome the visit of Secretary of State Powell to the area and will do all that we can to ensure its success," the foreign minister said.
The U.N. Security Council has endorsed U.S. President G. Bush's plan to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region and also demanded Israel withdraw from Palestinian cities.
The resolution, passed by a 15-0 vote, demanded implementation "without delay" of the council's resolution 1402 adopted last Saturday. It called for a "meaningful cease-fire" and Israeli troop withdrawal from Palestinian cities. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
