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Conference

Arafat regime near collapse as radical states press for war

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.