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Arafat, Peres meet
under U.S. pressure,
despite heavy fighting nearby

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Wednsday, September 26, 2001

GAZA Ñ Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat met Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres amid heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Amid heavy pressure from the European Union and the United States, Arafat and Peres met for more than an hour on Wednesday morning at the Palestinian airport at Dahaniya. A brief communique was read and the men did not meet reporters.



The communique expressed the commitment by both sides to U.S. plans to end the year-old war and launch peace talks. As the meeting took place, heavy fighting was reported nearby at the Egyptian border.

Three Israeli soldiers and nine Palestinians were reported wounded.

Later, Peres said Israeli and Palestinian officials would resume their security dialogue. But Palestinian groups, including the Arafat-headed Fatah movement, said they would ignore any calls for a ceasefire and continue attacks on Israeli installations.

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