Arafat and Syria

The Jordanian weekly al-Sabeel said on Tuesday that it was informed by well-informed diplomatic sources that Damascus is till persistent on its position in refusing to receive Yasser Arafat before it will get convinced he will not cheat her once again.

The sources explained that the Palestinian leadership has been trying since President Bashar al-Assad assumed power in Syria to contact with Damascus in order to maintain relations among themselves, noting that for this purpose several Palestinian officials have visited Syria during the few past months in secret and in open.

The sources added that the visit of member of the central committee of the Fatah movement Hani al-Hassan to Damascus, the most prominent visits among those paid by Palestinians, and met during this visit with the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara and discussed with him Arafat's possible visit to Damascus and his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad for maintaining consultation and coordination on ways of moving in the coming phase. This request was not accepted nor refused by al-Shara, rather he stressed that such a visit should be prepared for in a very good way so as to be of good results.

The sources continued that damascus asked the palestinian delegates to ask Arafat to give written obligations concerning his position towards the peace process and also his position on the negotiations with Israel and the question of coordination with Syria and its extent as a prior condition to agree receiving Arafat officially.

The same sources explained that Arafat was informed the Syrian message and did not refuse to comply with it in contrary to what Palestinian officials had expected.

Arafat promised to study the Syrian request and then to inform the Syria leadership of what he can do.