The United States and Europe are disputed over the destiny of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The sharp divisions over President George W. Bush's Middle East policy burst into the open at the Group of Eight summit held in Canada.
For his part, Bush said "most European leaders" agreed with him on the need for sweeping political and security reforms "among the Palestinians." "Most European leaders understand something has to change in order for there to be peace, and that starts with free elections, a new constitution, transparency, rule of law, among the Palestinians," Bush told reporters.
He also insisted that leaders of the world's richest nations meeting had given a "very positive" welcome to his latest Middle East peace plan, which makes ousting Arafat a precondition for creating a Palestinian state.
"I've been very pleased with the response to my proposal in the Middle East. The response has been very positive," said the U.S. leader.
European officials presented different views. "There is a need to reform the Palestinian Authority but that does not mean that Arafat has to go," a European official told AFP. "We are not going to tell Arafat to go."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has publicly made clear that Arafat was still in the picture. "As long as he is the president (of the Palestinian Authority) ... he remains our interlocutor," Schroeder told German television. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
