MIDDLE EAST: ARAB LEADERS SEE "GRAVE THREAT" TO PEACE PROCESS

Описание: (7 Sep 1997) Arabic/Eng/Nat

Arab leaders on Sunday said the current impasse in the Arab-Israeli peace process posed "a grave threat" to the region.

After their meeting in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Hussein and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged a redoubling of peace efforts.

The summit was called after Israel decided not to withdraw from parts of the West Bank as planned and took place a few days before the arrival of the U-S Secretary of State.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived at Cairo airport for Sunday's three-way meeting.
The summit took place at a time that the U-S-brokered peace process has all but collapsed.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority of allowing radicals to use its territories to launch attacks against Israel.

The criticism came the day after suicide bombers killed four Israelis in a shopping mall in the heart of Jerusalem.

The militant Palestinian group Hamas, which opposes the peace process, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Netanyahu said Israel would no longer feel bound by its agreement to withdraw from most of the West Bank by mid-1998.

It had originally said it would start withdrawing its troops on Sunday.

Also present at the summit was King Hussein of Jordan.

Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab nations with full peace treaties with the Jewish state.

Both have been trying to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

The three leaders met for almost three hours at the Koba Palace in Cairo.

Afterwards they released a joint statement.

In a message aimed at Israel they warned all parties against action that would violate earlier peace agreements.

They specifically mentioned Israeli settlement activity, the confiscation of Palestinian lands and the Israeli tactic of punishing all Palestinians for the activities of extremists.

They went on to condemn terrorism aimed at civilians and to welcome U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's upcoming visit.

On his return to Gaza, Arafat blamed the latest deadlock in the peace process on transgressions by Israel of the Oslo Peace Accord.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It is another breach of the agreement which has been signed at the White House under the supervision of President Clinton."
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Authority Chairman

He dismissed reports that the suicide bombers came and were trained in Palestinian areas.

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"I am not aware of such reports. All that we know is that they came from outside."
SUPERCAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Authority Chairman

U-S Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday on her first trip to the region since she took office seven months ago.

In addition to Israel and the Palestinian territories, she is due to visit Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

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