Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday denied holding secret talks with Israel, adding he no longer had confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
"There are no secret talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel," Arafat said at the end of a one-day visit to Abu Dhabi.
Arafat, cited by the official WAM news agency, added that he had lost all confidence that Barak would sign any kind of peace deal.
"He has not applied the agreements signed with the Authority. How can he start respecting other agreements if negotiations resume?" he asked.
The radical Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) claimed Thursday that the Israelis and Palestinians were holding secret peace talks and called on Arafat to break them off.
Arafat reiterated on Sunday that the Intifada, or uprising against Israel, would continue in the Palestinian territories: "Our people are ready to face up to all eventualities."
During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, Arafat held talks with President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, who urged international involvement alongside the United States in the Middle East peace process.
Arafat was to visit Yemen before returning to Gaza -- ABU DHABI (AFP)
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