Arafat denies that Barak proposed to recognize a Palestinian state

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Saturday denied the reports broadcast by Israeli television that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had proposed the recognition of a Palestinian state on 65% of the territories of the West Bank.

In a press conference he held on Saturday with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Arafat added that the Palestinians are persistent for an Israeli withdrawal from all territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, stating that the position of the Palestinians is very clear and is built on the land-for-peace principle.

AFP indicated that Arafat asked Zemin during the meeting to delegate a Chinese representative to the region to monitor and follow up the peace process, but the reply of the Chinese president was not known, SANA reported.