Report: King Abdullah mediates between Syria, Palestinian Authority

The United Arab Emirates daily al-Bayan said on Tuesday that a well-informed source in Jordan revealed that King Abdullah of Jordan has responded to the request raised by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during their recent meeting to mediate with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in order to convene a bilateral summit between Arafat and al-Assad.

Other well-informed Jordanian sources expected another summit to convene following the Jordanian -Egyptian, summit including the Arab states bordering Israel (al-Tawq states).

Al-Bayan added that Arafat has recently received a positive indication of Jordan's intention to intervene in this issue, especially as King Abdullah will visit Damascus within the coming weeks.

Al-Bayan was also told that Arafat also asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to intervene with Damascus in order to open the Syrian "gate before the Palestinian leadership, which suffers several problems."