Arafat to meet with Habash, Hawatemah

A Palestinian official announced in Gaza on Sunday that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will meet with the secretary general of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine, George Habash, on August 1 in Cairo.

In a radio statement, the chairman of the Palestinian council, Salim al-Zanoun said Arafat will also meet with the secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatemah, on August 7.

Al-Zanoun stated that Arafat's talks with the two men will deal with negotiations with Israel concerning the final status of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian official said the central committee of the Fatah movement will hold a meeting with all its members for the first time in years on July 31 in Cairo in order to discuss the same topic, which is the final status of the occupied territories.

The Fatah meeting will take place in the attendance of members not allowed to enter the Palestinian self-rule areas, Farouk Qaddoumi, Abu Maher Goneim and General Mohammed Jihad.