The rift between Britain and the United States over the Middle East deepened Tuesday night when a British Foreign Office minister met Yasser Arafat at his Ramallah headquarters.
Mike O'Brien, who took over as junior minister with responsibility for the Middle East last month, also met Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister, on what the British prime ministry said was a "familiarization visit". He did not meet Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister.
According to The Independent, the meeting with Arafat threatened to reopen the row between London and Washington over president Bush's call for his removal as part of a Middle East peace settlement.
British prime ministry, however, tried to play down the significance of O'Brien's visit and said Tony Blair supported the US President's speech on the Middle East last week calling for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
But the clear differences of approach were highlighted by the decision to meet Arafat. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We have said we will continue to talk to those people who are elected representatives of the Palestinian people. But that does not mean we do not want to see reform of the Palestinian Authority."
The spokesman said Blair, while happy to continue dealing with Arafat as an elected leader, believed the Palestinian president had let his people down. "We don't believe the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat have done all they could to bear down on terrorism and to condemn terrorism," he said.
For his part, O'Brien said after his talks with the Palestinian leader that the Palestinians need new leaders for the world to deal with alongside Yasser Arafat.
In a statement issued in London, O'Brien urged Arafat to "exercise his authority to end the suicide bombings."
O'Brien welcomed the Palestinian Authority's intention to hold elections and said it needed to "reform its institutions and create circumstances in which other representatives can come forward with whom we can deal, as well as President Arafat".
He added: "As the Palestinian Authority takes these steps, we and others in the international community can work with it towards a two-state solution that recognizes the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and brings peace based on security for Israel." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
