Arafat calls on Canada for help
Pressure U.S. to end Israeli occupation, Palestinian chief asks
JERUSALEM (AP-CP-Reuters) — Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is urging Canada to pressure the United States to bring about an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported yesterday.
In an interview from his Ramallah headquarters last week, Arafat said the Palestinian people also need Canada to press its U.S. ally to bring about free elections in Palestinian territories as soon as possible.
"I am personally asking, on behalf of myself and my people, for Canada and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to act quickly to save the (1993) peace accord that I signed with my partner (former Israeli prime minister) Yitzhak Rabin," Arafat told La Presse.
"I would like for Canada to act quickly so that the Americans can bring about an end to the occupation," he said. "I know there is a very strong relationship between Canada and the United States and I know that Canada can help to end this occupation."
Arafat said he was grateful Canada took an independent position on the future of the Palestinian people during the G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., in June. Chrétien and other Canadian officials said it was up to the Palestinians to choose their own leaders.
U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly called in recent months for Palestinians to replace Arafat through new elections and reform the Palestinian Authority he now heads.
Arafat told La Presse he's prepared to step down if his people want him to do so. But the 72-year-old leader added he won't be forced out by Israeli tanks, which have rolled into Palestinian territory on several occasions following attacks on Israeli citizens.
"No elections can be held while our territory is being occupied," he said.
A foreign affairs department spokesperson said Canada will continue to talk with its allies, as well as Palestinian and Israeli leaders, in an effort to resolve the Mideast conflict.
"At this point, all I can stress is that the conflict requires the involvement of the international community," Marie-Christine Lilkoff said yesterday. "I can't go beyond that."
She confirmed Canada continues to recognize Arafat and the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli official, meanwhile, said the Palestinian Authority must overhaul its security services and rein in terrorism before holding elections.
"They don't need elections," said Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "First of all they need to get rid of terrorism," he said, arguing it is impossible to have meaningful elections "when there is terrorism and corruption."
Those comments came as CIA Director George Tenet met in Washington with the Palestinian Authority's interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh. They were believed to have discussed a U.S. plan to reshape Palestinian security services as a prerequisite for rapprochement with Israel after 22 months of violence.
In other developments:
An Israeli woman was killed and her husband seriously wounded last night in an attack by a Palestinian gunman in a remote West Bank Jewish settlement, the army reported. It said the attacker had been killed by soldiers. Israeli media reports said the gunman had climbed the perimeter fence of Mehora, in the Jordan Valley, and opened fire on the couple as they sat in their car outside their home.
A demonstration that drew hundreds of Israeli and Arab peace activists to a checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem ended in scuffles, as police sprayed the demonstrators with water and charged them on horseback. Two people were arrested, according to protest organizers.
Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Palestinian municipal worker in Nablus, one of the seven cities Israel has occupied in the West Bank in response to suicide bombings. The army, expressing regret, said it appeared the man had a permit to move through the city streets despite a curfew.
In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops said they killed a Palestinian armed with grenades who was trying to infiltrate into Israel near the Niram kibbutz.
Pressure U.S. to end Israeli occupation, Palestinian chief asks
JERUSALEM (AP-CP-Reuters) — Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is urging Canada to pressure the United States to bring about an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported yesterday.
In an interview from his Ramallah headquarters last week, Arafat said the Palestinian people also need Canada to press its U.S. ally to bring about free elections in Palestinian territories as soon as possible.
"I am personally asking, on behalf of myself and my people, for Canada and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to act quickly to save the (1993) peace accord that I signed with my partner (former Israeli prime minister) Yitzhak Rabin," Arafat told La Presse.
"I would like for Canada to act quickly so that the Americans can bring about an end to the occupation," he said. "I know there is a very strong relationship between Canada and the United States and I know that Canada can help to end this occupation."
Arafat said he was grateful Canada took an independent position on the future of the Palestinian people during the G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., in June. Chrétien and other Canadian officials said it was up to the Palestinians to choose their own leaders.
U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly called in recent months for Palestinians to replace Arafat through new elections and reform the Palestinian Authority he now heads.
Arafat told La Presse he's prepared to step down if his people want him to do so. But the 72-year-old leader added he won't be forced out by Israeli tanks, which have rolled into Palestinian territory on several occasions following attacks on Israeli citizens.
"No elections can be held while our territory is being occupied," he said.
A foreign affairs department spokesperson said Canada will continue to talk with its allies, as well as Palestinian and Israeli leaders, in an effort to resolve the Mideast conflict.
"At this point, all I can stress is that the conflict requires the involvement of the international community," Marie-Christine Lilkoff said yesterday. "I can't go beyond that."
She confirmed Canada continues to recognize Arafat and the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli official, meanwhile, said the Palestinian Authority must overhaul its security services and rein in terrorism before holding elections.
"They don't need elections," said Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "First of all they need to get rid of terrorism," he said, arguing it is impossible to have meaningful elections "when there is terrorism and corruption."
Those comments came as CIA Director George Tenet met in Washington with the Palestinian Authority's interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh. They were believed to have discussed a U.S. plan to reshape Palestinian security services as a prerequisite for rapprochement with Israel after 22 months of violence.
In other developments:
An Israeli woman was killed and her husband seriously wounded last night in an attack by a Palestinian gunman in a remote West Bank Jewish settlement, the army reported. It said the attacker had been killed by soldiers. Israeli media reports said the gunman had climbed the perimeter fence of Mehora, in the Jordan Valley, and opened fire on the couple as they sat in their car outside their home.
A demonstration that drew hundreds of Israeli and Arab peace activists to a checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem ended in scuffles, as police sprayed the demonstrators with water and charged them on horseback. Two people were arrested, according to protest organizers.
Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Palestinian municipal worker in Nablus, one of the seven cities Israel has occupied in the West Bank in response to suicide bombings. The army, expressing regret, said it appeared the man had a permit to move through the city streets despite a curfew.
In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops said they killed a Palestinian armed with grenades who was trying to infiltrate into Israel near the Niram kibbutz.
