Arafat Seen as Only Palestinian Leader Possible for Peace Deal with

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Arafat Seen as Only Palestinian Leader Possible for Peace Deal with

Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is the only Palestinian leader with whom Israel can reach a peace deal, Israel Radio quoted a senior security source as saying on Tuesday.

Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is the only Palestinian leader with whom Israel can reach a peace deal, Israel Radio quoted a senior security source as saying on Tuesday.

Arafat has not prepared anyone to take his place, said the source.

Following the killing of 10 Israelis in a fatal shooting attack on an Israeli bus on December 12, the Israeli cabinet declared Arafat as "irrelevant" and decided to cut contacts with him.

But the international community still regards Arafat as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Israeli-Palestinian violence continued on Monday, a day after Arafat called for a halt of all kinds of armed attacks on Israel, and three Israelis were wounded in Palestinian ambushes in the WestBank while three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

Arafat's call to end violence came after the international community urged him to take more actions against radical Palestinian militants in the territories.

In another development, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has again told his people that there is a need for painful compromises on the road to peace.

Sharon was speaking late Monday to members of a center for the preservation of the heritage of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin who signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979.

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