Al-Qaddoumi: Arafat visits Damascus in the second half of April

The chairman of the PLO political department Farouk al-Qaddoumi has announced that the forthcoming visit of the chairman of the palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat may be held in the next half of the current month.

The Syrian daily " Tishreen" quoted al-Qaddoumi as saying that the date of the visit " has not been fixed yet, and we are waiting certain contacts and Arab efforts with the EU-ME peace process coordinator."

He explained that consultations are being made to convene the summit between the Palestinian and Syrian leaders" in the second half of this month." Al-Qaddoumi continued " it was agreed between the Palestinians and our brothers in Syria about co-ordinating" their stances over a " militant program of five points." He explained that the five points are represented in " full withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories of 1967, the return back of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland, Israel's withdrawal from east Jerusalem, support for the Intifada and establishing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital."

Al-Qaddoumi made these statements during a visit he made several days ago to Syria to prepare for Arafat's visit to damascus, which will be his first work visit to Syria since 1996.