Arafat: 'The road map is dead'

[drdon326]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/02/mideast/index.html

Recent Israeli military action against Palestinian militants has killed the U.S.-backed Mideast "road map" to peace, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Tuesday.

His statement in an off-camera interview with CNN came as Israel's defense minister left open the possibility that Israel might move to expel Arafat, the Palestinian Authority president.

Arafat said there was no prospect of Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas resuming a declared cease-fire with Israel.

"The road map is dead, but only because of Israeli military aggression in recent weeks," he said. The interview took place in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Arafat said the United States has not done enough to keep the peace plan alive, suggesting that the U.S. commitment in Iraq or the next year's presidential election are preoccupying the Bush administration.

He downplayed a reported split between himself and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, saying the reports have been exaggerated by Israel in order to create problems within the Palestinian leadership.

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**yawn**...pssst.....hey yassir.....you killed the road map.

what an lying asshole.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Hate killed the roadmap

hate which you can see on both sides. When Israel takes lands, destroys businesses and disrupts lives, I understand why Palestinians get angry. (I understand, but don't condone violence.) When Arab countries combine to try and destroy the state of Israel, which they have done in several wars starting in 1948, I can understand why Israelis think they are fighting for their lives. I think that expelling Arafat, who was elected by the Palestinian people, won't help calm down the extremists in the least. It will be just another excuse for bloodshed. And this is sad, because there have been voices of moderation on both sides of this conflict, and these moderates have been silenced, one way or another, so that the extremists may continue their game of kill and kill again.

[cherryperry]

2. Shalom, drdon326!

I was about to post this as well and, luckily, saw that you had done so first!

:pals: