Palestinian officials embarrassed by Mrs. Arafat's statements

RAMALLAH [MENL] -- Palestinian Authority officials disassociated themselves on Friday from an accusation by the wife of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat that Israel has poisoned the Palestinians with toxic gases.

PA sources said the attack by Suha Arafat appeared to be an effort to win support for the unpopular Palestinian first lady. She has been criticized for her frequent and extended jaunts to Paris and the West, where she was said to have bought tens of thousands of dollars of clothes and jewelry.

"It is important to point out here the severe damage caused by the intensive daily use of poison gas by the Israeli forces in the past years which has led to an increase of cancer cases among Palestinian women and children,'' Mrs. Arafat said. "Our lands are soaked in chemicals that we inherited from the occupation regime, and this causes severe epidemics, especially among women and children."

Mrs. Arafat was speaking a ceremony in Ramallah attended by U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton did not respond to the remarks.

"I don't think this is true," PA Minister Ziyad Abu Ziyad said of Mrs. Arafat's remarks. "I think that the media don't have to dance on every statement whether it comes from the Israeli or Palestinian side."

Privately, PA officials said Mrs. Arafat's prepared speech embarrassed the U.S. delegation and was clearly a ploy to capture headlines in Friday's PA-controlled newspapers. They said Mrs. Arafat has been concerned by the persistent criticism of her highball lifestyle.

In an unrelated development, PA officials on Friday accused Israeli soldiers of shooting the deputy mayor of Ansa, Morocco, during a visit to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Hasan Djaoud was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.

Israeli military sources said no gunshot was fired and those in the Moroccan delegation said they did not hear any shots.