By Izzat Ramini
Albawaba.com - Ramallah
Secretary of the National Liberation Movement - Fateh, has said that he believed the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit is doomed to failure, describing it as “an American attempt to abort the Intifada.” He also stressed the point that Palestinian Intifada will be escalated prior to the convening of the Arab Summit in Cairo on October 21.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak agreed on Saturday to attend the proposed summit, scheduled for Monday. The White House has confirmed President Clinton’s participation in the meeting. Other participants include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in addition to the host, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak.
“There is an American conspiracy to abort the Intifada in the first place,” charged Marwan Barghouthi, adding that such a summit would “protect the rulers of Tel Aviv and abort the Arab summit.”
The Fateh official added that “the PNA has been under tremendous pressure to attend the summit, which we consider an obligatory station, which will lead to no agreement as was the case in Paris.”
Barghouthi was referring to the meeting between Arafat, Barak and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Paris following the outbreak of violence in the West bank and Gaza 16 days ago, which led to the death of more than 90 Palestinians in clashes with the Israeli security forces.
The Fateh secretary vowed that “the Intifada activities will continue,” saying that “an Arab summit resulting in support for our national rights is our top priority.”
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
