The planned meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was called off Friday by orders of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, public radio said.
Sharon informed US President George Bush of his decision over the phone, explaining that the much-anticipated meeting would represent a danger for Israel in the wake of the terror attacks in the United States, it said.
"Given Arafat's behavior in the past and his behavior right now, the prime minister saw that, at this particular time, it would be inappropriate," a senior official told AFP, adding that the meeting could be held in future.
"The prime minister didn't cancel the meeting. He thinks that it's an inappropriate time if Arafat cannot come through with real measures and steps to stop the violence," the official said.
The radio quoted a political source Thursday as saying the meeting was to have taken place Sunday at Gaza airport, although both camps had refused to confirm or deny the report.
The official told AFP that the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington had put international terror in the spotlight, and would change the conditions for direct ceasefire talks between the two men.
"Arafat must understand the rule of the game has changed now," he said. "It's a different world after what happened” -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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