Palestine hails Cairo meeting between Arafat, opposition

Palestinian political forces welcomed the meetings to be held between Palestinian opposition factions and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Cairo on Sunday to discuss boosting Palestinian national unity and preparing for final status negotiations with Israel.

The secretary general of the Palestinian Cabinet, Ahmed Abd El-Rahman, announced yesterday that these meetings reflect the concern of national forces with the nation's problems and being away from selfish considerations.

He added that the meetings will focus on discussing the latest developments in the political arena and on exchanging views concerning the suggested subjects, specifically on final status negotiations with which all Palestinian forces are concerned, even those who oppose the Olso and the transitional accords (Wye accord).