Arafat accepts the convening of a peace conference
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 4/16/2002

The chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat announced his readiness to accept the Israeli proposal to convene a regional conference for peace under the condition it will be under the auspices of the UN.

In a telephone statement with the US TV networking Fox News, Arafat said he is ready to convene a conference immediately but this should simultaneously be accompanied by an immediate pullout for the Israeli army from the West Bank.

Arafat added he will accept anything that wins the support of the US President George Bush in order to achieve peace.

Earlier, the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon said he had proposed to the US secretary of State Colin Powell that the US will organize a regional conference which will be attended by several states under the patronage of the US.

On the other hand, the Israeli radio on Monday quoted Israeli officials as saying that the proposed international conference might be held within the next 6 coming weeks.

The officials said that the said conference might be held in the US, however, the issue relating to the possibility of the European Union and Russia's participation in this conference has not been settled yet.

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