German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, on a tour of the region aimed at easing the conflagration in the Middle East, began a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza on Wednesday.
The two men are expected to make statements to the press after their talks, officials with the German delegation said.
Schroeder's tour had been planned for a year, but has largely been overtaken by diplomacy surrounding the Palestinian uprising which has so far claimed more than 160 lives, the vast majority of them Arabs.
In talks with Israeli officials including Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday, Schroeder appealed for an end to the violence that has left the peace process in tatters.
"The violence must stop. I say that to anybody who is concerned," he said after meeting Barak. "We must go back to the negotiation table."
A statement from Barak's office after their meeting quoted Schroeder as saying he will demand that Arafat take "all necessary steps" to halt the violence and that Germany opposes a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state – GAZA CITY (AFP)
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