Arafat Can Leave If He Promises Not to Return: Israeli Proposal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 02, 2002

Arafat Can Leave If He Promises Not to Return: Israeli Proposal

Israel has proposed that Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will be allowed to leave his beleaguered office in Ramallah on condition that he will not return to the territories.

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Israel has proposed that Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will be allowed to leave his beleaguered office in Ramallah on condition that he will not return to the territories.

According to Tuesday's Haaretz, a leading newspaper in Israel, the proposal was raised in contacts over the past few days between the Prime Minister's Office and European and other representatives who proposed sending visitors to Arafat.

The proposal also said that Arafat will not be permitted to takewith him any of the wanted men "whom he is hiding."

"They (the representatives) were told they could visit Arafat only if they agreed to take him out of Ramallah, and that he would be banned from returning," the newspaper said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres also has earlier brought out another proposal, saying that Arafat would leave Ramallah of his own accord if there was a foreign country that was willing to give him refuge.

Peres reportedly has discussed the proposal with Egypt and othercountries but the efforts have no results yet.

As of Friday, Israel has prevented foreign representatives from entering Arafat's compound and has stopped other Palestinian figures from holding meetings in Ramallah.

U.N. envoy Terje Larsen, European Union envoy Miguel Moratinos and Russian envoy Andrei Vdovin, all requested permission to visit Arafat on humanitarian grounds and out of concern for his well-being in the past days.

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