Peres boycotts Sunday's meeting of the Israeli government

The Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres on Sunday boycotted the session of the Israeli cabinet in protest to the decision made by the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon preventing the convening of a meeting between him ( Peres ) and the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat.

The Israeli Hebrew language Israeli radio said that Peres who held talks with several ministers who refuse his meeting with Arafat, with the aim to urge them to approve this meeting, could not convince them about that at a time when those Israeli ministers refused making any negotiations with Arafat.

The radio added that Peres was confined to staying in a hall close to the session where the cabinet meeting is being held, noting that Peres is studying the possibility of resigning from the Israeli government.