Arafat Terms Bush's Election as US President Good NewsPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday, December 14, termed the election of George W. Bush as the next president of the United States as good news for the Mideast peace process.Arafat made the remarks after returning to the Palestinian self- rule city of Gaza from a meeting in Morocco with US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross. Bush's election is definitely good news for the peace process as "his father (George Bush) has started the Madrid conference," the Palestinian leader said. George Bush was the US president when the 1991 Mideast peace conference held in the Spanish capital launched the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, and led to the 1993 Oslo accords. Meanwhile, Arafat said that he had the feeling while talking with Ross that US President Bill Clinton was "determined to achieve something concrete" to push the Mideast peace process forward before he leaves office on January 20. |
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