Israeli authorities barred Palestinian delegates from attending a Euromed conference on EU-Mediterranean cooperation being held in Marseille Wednesday and Thursday, Palestinian minister for international cooperation Nabil Shaath said.
"The Israelis prevented four members of the Palestinian delegation from coming," Shaath told AFP, adding that those four were to have brought with them documents essential to the meeting.
"This constitutes a total violation of the Euromed rules and association agreements," he said.
Shaath said he was able to attend because he came directly from an Islamic summit in Doha.
He said another delegate, Samih el-Abed, the Palestinian representative to the EU in Brussels, came here from a visit in Morocco.
Shaath said the alleged ban on the Palestinians coming here "highlights the problem of Israel's siege" on the Palestinian territories.
He said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's call for a ceasefire on Wednesday was "a gesture of good will."
He added: "Every time we try to stop the fighting, the Israelis continue to fire and besiege the Palestinians" -- MARSEILLE (AFP)
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