Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will head on Wednesday for the United States to hold talks with US President on the current developments and ways to put the peace processs back on track, according to a source at the Palestinian National Authority who requested anonymity.
The source added that Arafat called on Thursday French President Jacque Chirac, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II for consultations.
According to AFP, the Palestinian president said the same day that the Palestinians were "still waiting" for Israel to issue a statement on curbing violence in the Palestinian territories.
Asked to comment on a truce the Palestinians reached late Wednesday with former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, Arafat said: "We are still waiting for the official response of the Israeli government, especially after our statement in the name of the Palestinian leadership."
Israel has said earlier Thursday that the two sides had agreed to issue simultaneously an identical statement calling for calm after five weeks of violence in the Palestinian territories.
Later in the day, the Palestinians issued an official, unilateral statement calling on Palestinians to be peaceful in their demonstrations.
The Israeli government said earlier that Prime Minister Ehud Barak was ready to make a statement, but was waiting for a simultaneous declaration from the Palestinians.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
