Arafat praises King Hassan's role in Mideast peace process
Palestine-Morocco, Politics, 10/26/1998

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat hailed on Sunday the role played by King Hassan II in the Middle East peace process and in the defense of Arab and Islamic causes.

Arafat, who paid a short visit to Morocco over the weekend, said in a departure statement that he came to Rabat to inform King Hassan II of the outcome of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations at the Wye Plantation in the United States.

The Moroccan king received the Palestinian president on Sunday in Rabat.

Arafat, who is touring a number of Arab capitals, was accompanied by Secretary-General of the PLO executive committee Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Qrei, and Nabil Abu Rdina, advisor to the Palestinian president.

Arafat termed the interim peace accords reached with the Israelis after long days of painstaking bargaining at the Wye River site as a "decisive" turning point.

The accord is a materialization of the U.S initiative calling for a 13 percent Israeli withdrawal, he said, adding that the Palestinians had accepted the initiative when it was launched, while the Israelis accepted it at Wye Plantation only.

After nine days of negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Arafat signed the interim peace agreement on Friday in Washington, breaking a 19-month deadlock in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

Under the agreement, Israel will withdraw troops from 13.1 percent of the West Bank in three months and Palestinians will step up efforts against anti-Israeli activities in Palestine and convene the Palestinian National Council to revoke anti-Israel clauses in the Palestinian National Charter.

Previous Stories:
  Arafat calls EU to help peace agreement overcome enemies   (10/26/1998)
  THE WYE RIVER MEMORANDUM full text   (10/24/1998)
  Clinton gets Palestinian - Israeli interim agreement signed   (10/23/1998)

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