Arafat gets a telephone call from Powell

The chairman of the Palestinian authority Yasser Arafat on Sunday called on the American administration to work for halting the implementation of Ariel Sharon's plan in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nabil Abu Rudinah, Arafat's advisor, said that the chairman of the Palestinian Authority received a telephone call from the US secretary of state Colin Powell during which Arafat asked Powell to halt the implementation of the Israeli plan to install buffer zones around the Palestinian territories.

Abu Rudinah added that Arafat learnt from Powell about the grave conditions in the Palestinian territories in light of the Israeli military escalation, noting that Powell and Arafat agreed to continue contacts between the two sides.

Last Thursday, Sharon said he intends to install buffer zones in order to separate between the Palestinians and the Israelis along the borders of the occupied West Bank. In an interview with the Monte Carlo radio Arafat said that the current international efforts sincerely reflect the international position, including the European position which strongly stands with the Palestinians.