Two radical factions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday pressed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat not to attend a summit with Israel, which they said would weaken or end the Intifada.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said it warned Arafat's Palestinian Authority against participating in Monday's summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, "which seeks to bring an end to the Intifada," or uprising.
Another goal of the summit is "to bring assassin general Ehud Barak out of the regional and international isolation he is in because of the Intifada and to cover up his crimes against our people," the DFLP said in a statement.
The DFLP also said the summit will try to block Arab leaders meeting October 21 in Cairo from "making any decisions (honoring) the sacrifices by our Palestinian people."
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), meanwhile, warned that the United States "wants to push the summit to make decisions that weaken the Intifada."
The United States, which will be represented at the summit by President Bill Clinton, also wants "to defeat the growing international pressures to set up an international inquiry commission and put an end to Israeli aggressions," the PFLP said.
The PFLP and DFLP, both based in Damascus, along with Arafat's larger Fatah faction, are the principal components of the PLO – DAMASCUS (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
