Arafat regime near collapse as radical states press for war
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday, May 19, 2001
WASHINGTON Ñ U.S. allies in the Arab world
have warned Washington of a collapse of the Palestinian Authority. PA
Chairman Yasser Arafat is said to be under pressure from Iran, Iraq and
Syria to escalate the conflict with Israel.
"The region is experiencing profound structural pressures and changes,"
said William Burns, nominated to head the State Department's Near East and
North Africa bureau. "Active American engagement in the Middle East is a
necessity, not an option."
At the same time, Washington's Arab allies are under pressure to act
against Israel, Middle East Newsline reported. On Friday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has refused an invitation to meet
Bush next month due to Riyad's anger over U.S. support to Israel.
U.S. diplomats blocked a Palestinian attempt to convene the United
Nations Security Council for an emergency session on Israel. The diplomats
said the administration wants to encourage the Palestinians to meet Israelis
in negotiations rather than impose a solution in the world body.
Earlier, Syrian President Bashar Assad was reported to have stormed out
of a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, amid an argument
over Arab strategy. Assad dismissed Mubarak's recommendation that the two
countries should work to ease tension in the region.
The Bush administration is reluctantly moving to raise
its profile in the Middle East in an effort to end the nearly
eight-month-old Israeli-Palestinian war.
President George Bush held a session on Thursday with his top advisers
on implementing recommendations of a panel led by former Sen. George
Mitchell. The report calls for a ceasefire by Israeli and Palestinian
forces, a return to peace talks and an end to Israeli construction in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The session included Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National
Security Adviser Condeleezza Rice.
U.S. officials said the White House wants to draft an initiative based
on the Mitchell report that would garner both Israeli and Arab support. But
the officials said Bush will probably not pressure Israel to halt
construction activity as long as this remains in existing Jewish settlements
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"We are still considering the various aspects of the Mitchell Commission
and the comments of the parties on it," State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher said. "We'll obviously take into account explanations that the
parties give of their policies in different areas."
The Mitchell report is expected to be formally released on Monday.
Meanwhile, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have submitted comments
on the report.
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