Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer will decide Sunday evening whether Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will be allowed to leave his Ramallah headquarters for an Islamic meeting in Doha. Meanwhile, the Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani asked US President George W. Bush to urge Israel to Arafat.
Arafat is scheduled to take part in the Organization of the Islamic Conference opening Tuesday in Qatar.
Sharon and Ben-Eliezer will consult with the inner security cabinet before deciding, said the Jerusalem Post.
According to the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz, the decision will be made by the kitchen cabinet, which means that dovish Foreign Minister Shimon Peres will take part in deciding on Arafat’s travel plan.
Sharon was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying at Sunday’s weekly cabinet session it was unlikely Arafat would be able to take part in the conference, since he should be busy fighting “terrorism” in PA-controlled areas.
The prime minister said the PA had made no official request to leave the territories.
Palestinians sources said Arafat would likely not leave the area, fearing that Israel would not allow him to return after the conference, Army Radio said.
And a senior aide to Arafat told AFP that the president might not attend a meeting of the OIC in light of the recent bloodshed that saw only on Sunday five Palestinians Killed, and at least eight Israelis injured in a suicide attack in Haifa.
"I think that the current situation and the Israeli military escalation against the Palestinian people could prevent President Arafat from attending the OIC conference," Palestinian cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said.
In Cairo, another senior Palestinian official said Qatar's emir has asked US President George W. Bush to urge Israel to let Arafat travel to Doha for Monday's meeting of OIC foreign ministers that is that is due to discuss the escalating violence in the Palestinian territories.
Palestinian international cooperation minister Nabil Shaath, quoted by Egypt's official MENA agency, said Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani telephoned Bush, but any response from Israel was still unclear – Albawaba.com
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