WEST BANK/ITALY: EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA HOLDS TALKS WITH PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT IN RAMALLAH/ ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SHIMON PERES SAYS ARAFAT HAS POWER TO END ANTI-ISRAELI VIOLENCE
Record ID:
566186
WEST BANK/ITALY: EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA HOLDS TALKS WITH PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT IN RAMALLAH/ ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SHIMON PERES SAYS ARAFAT HAS POWER TO END ANTI-ISRAELI VIOLENCE
- Title: WEST BANK/ITALY: EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA HOLDS TALKS WITH PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT IN RAMALLAH/ ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SHIMON PERES SAYS ARAFAT HAS POWER TO END ANTI-ISRAELI VIOLENCE
- Date: 11th December 2001
- Summary: (U6)RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (DECEMBER 11, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SCU: PALESTINIAN FLAG 0.03 2. PAN: EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA ARRIVING; WALKING INTO BUILDING 0.15 3. VARIOUS: PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT SEATED WITH SOLANA AND OFFICIALS (3 SHOTS) 0.30 4. SV: SOUNDBITE (Arabic) ARAFAT SAYING: "And please I would like you to convey my greetings and my thanks to the leaders of the European Union for their continuous assistance to our people and to the qustion of peace in the region and for the balance statement that was issued yesterday concerning the situation here." 0.49 5. WIDE OF ARAFAT AND SOLANA 0.53 6. SV: SOUNDBITE (English) SOLANA SAYING: "But you have in front of you difficult challlenges. Your president has in front of you very many challenges.. You have the support of the European Union but you have to comply with those challenges and part of the challenges are difficult." 1.14 7. SLV/MV: PRESS CONFERENCE ENDING (2 SHOTS) 1.23 8. MV: ARAFAT AND SOLANA LEAVING 1.27 (U5) ROME, ITALY (DECEMBER 11, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9. LV/SLV/LV: ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SHIMON PERES ENTERS NEWS CONFERENCE/ MEDIA (3 SHOTS) 1.49 10. SCU/SLV: (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHIMON PERES SAYING: "I define him (Palestinian President Yasser Arafat) as a man that has to prevent terrorism for the sake of the Palestinians. It is a bit longer, but, from time to time, a longer definition is the right one." (2 SHOTS) 2.04 11. SV/LV: SHIMON PERES LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE (2 SHOTS) 2.18 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 26th December 2001 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ROME, ITALY
- City:
- Country: West Bank West Bank Italy
- Reuters ID: LVA4SN8IMB3YJCIACI2C8ULFM4N5
- Story Text: European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has
held talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the
West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has said that
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has the power to put an
end to anti-Israeli violence and urged him to do it for the
sake of his own people.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana met
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of
Ramallah on Tuesday (December 11) to issue a new appeal to the
Palestinian president to do more to crack down on militants
responsible for attacks inside Israel in a 14-month-old
uprising against occupation.
During a news conference in Ramallah, Solana said Arafat
faced "difficult challenges". He had the support of the EU if
he complied with the demands of those challenges, Solana said.
Solana's call followed unusually harsh criticism of the
Palestinian leader for not reining in militants issued by EU
foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday Peres had met Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and U.S. peace envoy Anthony Zinni in Jerusalem.
In Italy, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was asked
at a news conference whether he shared Sharon's view that
Arafat is a "terrorist".
Peres, who won the Nobel Peace Prize with Arafat,
answered: "I define him (Arafat) as a man who has to prevent
terrorism for the sake of the Palestinians. It is a bit
longer, but, from time to time, a longer definition is the
right one."
Peres' Labour Party is considering whether to pull out of
Sharon's national unity government after a cabinet decision to
declare the Palestinian Authority a "terror supporting
entity".
Peres and other Labour ministers will meet next Monday for
a vote on whether to remain in government.
Israel blames Arafat for a wave of suicide bombings for
which the Palestinian leader denies responsibility. At least
756 Palestinians and 223 Israelis have been killed in 14
months of violence.
After recent attacks, Israel launched air strikes against
Palestinian security sites and symbols of power and carried
out raids inside Palestinians areas. It said the raids were
meant to put pressure on Arafat to round up militants.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None