Bush administration: replacing Arafat by Oreikat

The Saudi daily al-Watan issued on Sunday said that the US administration wants the official in charge of the local rule in the Palestinian Authority Saeb Oreikat to replace the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat.

The paper added quoting a European diplomatic source that the US President George Bush and the British Prime minister Tony Blair agreed during their meeting on Saturday in Texas on the need of alienating Arafat from any talks to be held to ease down conditions, noting that Bush clings that peace can be achieved without Arafat and that there are other Palestinian sources which are better and more qualified for the forthcoming peace talks.

The paper stressed that Bush had made contacts with several Arab states concerned with peace in the region to convince them on the need of alienating Arafat, noting that this American request was accepted by certain Arab states and refused by others and that the Palestinian negotiator Saeb Oreikat is the candidate and the most expected nominee for the American side to replace Arafat.