Israeli Military Escalation Not to Force Palestinian People to Bow: Arafat

Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat said on Thursday that the Palestinian people "will neither bow nor yield due to the Israeli military escalation."

"Israel insists on carrying out the escalation plan against the Palestinian people," he told reporters upon his return here from Tunisia after a brief visit to the north African county.

On the ongoing Israeli military escalation against Palestinian security and civilian targets, Arafat said "All of us expected such a thing." "They (the Israelis) think that by so doing they can force us to bow, forgetting that we are the mighty people," he added.

"We will neither bow nor give in," Arafat noted.

He underlined the importance of the Arab and international contacts, due to take place during the coming days, in tackling the developments of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Arab League follow-up committee will hold a ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday and the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference members will meet in Doha, capital of Qatar, on May 26, to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Arafat said.

He also stressed the importance of the discussion of the European Union and the U.N. Security Council on the issue.

The U.N. Security Council met at 11 a.m. EST (1500GMT) Thursday behind closed doors to weigh a response to a third Palestinian plea for U.N. protection for Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, reports reaching here from New York said.

On the reported meeting that might be held between him and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Arafat said "I have no idea about such a meeting."

Media reports said recently that Powell and Arafat might meet in Paris on May 23 during Arafat's visit to France at the invitation of French President Jacque Chirac.

The recent days witnessed escalating clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli army. The Israeli army made several intrusions into the Palestinian self-rule areas and conducted large-scale demolitions of Palestinian houses and leveling of Palestinian farm land.






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