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Arafat Accuses Israeli Killing, Vows to Fight for Peace
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Saturday accused Israel of committing "the worst kinds of mass killings, shelling in addition to severe siege" against his people, but pledged to continue fight for peace.
"Our choice is the choice of permanent, just and comprehensive peace," he told other Arab leaders at their summit, the first in four years.
After Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's speech at the opening session, Arafat said the Palestinian aim is "to liberate our land, set up our independent state... with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees."
The Palestinian people "are faced with a collective massacre" by Israel, Arafat told the summit, attended by 15 heads of state of the 22 members of the Arab League.
He warned that the Israeli actions in Jerusalem could lead to "wars of religion with unforeseen consequences."
Arafat denounced as a plot the September 28 visit by Israel's hawkish opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a provocative move which sparked widespread Palestinian protests and ensuing clashes with Israel.
He said that 193 Palestinians have been killed and 7,000 others wounded by Israeli forces in their brutality against Palestinian demonstrations in more than three weeks.
He urged the international community to "live up to its responsibilities" and find a solution to the conflict "which threatens security and stability in the world."
The Arab summit was held amid renewed violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as the Palestinian-Israeli truce agreement reached Tuesday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh appeared collapsing.
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