Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived late Saturday in Tunisia for discussions on US President Bill Clinton's compromise peace plan.
Arafat made no comment when he arrived shortly after 8:00 PM (1900 GMT) at Tunis airport, where he was met by Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia.
"President Arafat will consult with Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali over the situation in the Palestinian territories and the dealings around the American initiative," a Palestinian official told AFP as Arafat left Gaza City earlier.
Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization is based in Tunis and in October Tunisia severed relations with Israel following an emergency Arab summit in Cairo which criticized the Jewish state's use of "excessive force" to quell the Palestinian uprising.
Ben Ali has called on Israel to halt its "aggressions" against the Palestinians.
Tunisia, a member of the UN Security Council, has also called for an international force to be sent to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protect the Palestinians.
Top Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudeina said Saturday that the Palestinians would likely not respond to the Clinton plan before an upcoming meeting of an Arab League committee on the Palestinians, of which Tunisia is a member -- TUNIS (AFP)
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