Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat wants Europe to get more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an official for the French communist party who met Arafat in Gaza Saturday said.
The wish of Arafat is "that the situation does not get worse and that there are no more lives lost and that the negotiations (with Israel) begin again on a different basis," meaning that they are no longer under the auspices of just the United States, said Daniel Cirera, the party's spokesman on international relations.
"He is determined that Europe be involved" and wants Paris, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, to "contribute toward a more active role from Europe to re-launch the peace process."
The communist party delegation, which also includes deputy Pierre Goldberg, a member of the national assembly's foreign affairs committee, met Arafat and the Palestinian minister for international cooperation, Nabil Shaath, for around 90 minutes – GAZA CITY (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
