Australia cancels Arafat's visit, causing anger
Palestine, International, 11/4/1997

The Australian government tried to contain the dilemma of its sudden cancellation of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's visit to Australia. It stated that the cancellation is due to internal affairs and informed Arab governments through their ambassadors in Australia that it hopes that this action would not affect Australia's relations with the Arab countries.

Egypt, as the current president of the Arab Summit, has informed the Australian government of the Arab feelings of displeasure due to the cancellation, asserting that it was caused by the pressure of the Jewish Lobby in Australia. This action in addition to Australia's neutral reaction in the UN General Assembly regarding the resolution condemning the Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Arab lands caused feelings of bewilderment and raised many questions about Australian-Arab relations.

The Australian government had previously asked the Palestinian Authority to postpone Arafat's visit to an indefinite date without giving reasons, which was considered by the PA a diplomatic cancellation of the visit. This step caused great feelings of displeasure in the Palestinian and Arab League circles in Cairo, which regretted the Australian stances supporting Israel in international venues.

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