Newly-elected Israeli Labor Party chairman, Amram Mitzna, called Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat a "terrorist" and hoped the Palestinians would replace him with new leadership. "Arafat is a terrorist. He has never stopped walking around with a weapon in his belt," the Israeli leader conveyed.
However, Mitzna pledged to resume peace talks with the Palestinians if he is elected prime minister.
In an interview with the German weekly Focus, published Monday, Mitzna said the Oslo Accords gave Arafat a chance to establish an independent state, but instead he adopted a path of "terror." "The peace process launched by the Oslo accords gave him the chance to create something new, an autonomous state. In exchange, we only asked him to do one thing: to stop terrorism. He did not do that," he added.
Mitzna left the door open, nonetheless, to negotiating with Arafat in the future, in that he said he would hold talks with whoever the Palestinians elect as their leader. Mitzna also expressed support for the peace plan of former prime minister Ehud Barak. (Albawaba.com)
