Arafat arrives in US

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived in Washington on early Wednesday for a three-day official visit to the USA.

Arafat's schedule includes meetings with US President Bill Clinton and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to discuss Israel's suspension of the implementation of the Wye River agreement signed in October between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Joe Lockhart, White House spokesman said today that Clinton met with Arafat for 20 minutes.

In this respect Israel's representative at the UN, Dore Gold, has announced that he will boycott the traditional prayer breakfast to be held today in Washington with the participation of the US President Bill Clinton and members of congress, in opposition to Arafat's presence at the event.

In a statement quoted by Israel Radio on Wednesday, Gold said there is "no reason to make this religious ceremony a political event."