Arafat's Adviser Holds Israel Responsible for Clashes

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) held Israeli government responsible for recent provocations and urged it to stop the bloodshed in the Noble Sanctuary, known as Temple Mount to Jews.

Nabil Abu-Rudeinah, adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, said "upon Arafat's instructions we asked the Israeli government to pull its troops immediately from the Noble Sanctuary and to order the police to stop provocations."

He said Israel should bear the responsibility for the recent violent clashes in the holy city.

Five Palestinians have been killed and over 200 others injured in bloody clashes with Israeli soldiers in the religious compound in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem Friday.

The Palestinian leadership in its weekly meeting Friday night declared tomorrow a day of mourning for those killed and called for a general strike to protest Israeli violence.

The PNA notified the U.S. Administration on the provocation and aggression committed by the Israeli government and army against the Palestinian citizens starting with the visit by right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the holy Muslim sites Thursday, Abu-Rudeinah added.

Israeli government is held responsible for Sharon's visit which violated the Muslim sanctities, Abu-Rudeinah pointed out. "Sharon should be forced to observe his limits, something that Israeli

government did not do," he said.

"We are facing a great chaos and a religious war ignited by Sharon and the extremist quarters in Israel. Israeli government must shoulder immediately its responsibility and pull its troops out, stop provocations and return the situation to normalcy," he added.

Arafat is closely following up the situation, he said, noting that there are Jewish extremists who are trying to sabotage the peace process.

Contacts are underway between the PNA and the United States on the one hand and the PNA and Israel on the other in an effort to find a way out of the stalemate of the peace process. There are some Israeli quarters which try to destabilize the Palestinian security in order to influence the peace talks, Abu-Rudeinah claimed.

He urged the United States to step in immediately to stop the bloodshed as the situation is getting worse continuously.



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