Powell, Arafat to Meet Again on Tuesday

A senior Palestinian official said on Sunday that US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will meet again on Tuesday.

Chief of Palestinian Preventive Security for the Gaza Strip Mohamed Dahlan also said that it was agreed at the meeting between Powell and Arafat earlier in the day that a joint Palestinian-American meeting will be held on Monday.

Dahlan said that "We agreed in the meeting to form Palestinian and American working teams that would meet on Monday to discuss allpolitical and security issues and the reconstruction of what had been destroyed by Israel," adding "it may lead to an initiative to get out of the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians."

Powell and Arafat are scheduled to meet again in Ramallah on Tuesday after both Palestinian and Israeli teams present their vision on political, security and economical issues, he said.

Dahlan attended the meeting between Powell and Yasser Arafat that was held at the besieged Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah for more than three hours.

Dahlan said that during the meeting, Powell presented to Arafat his vision to solve the conflict. However, he said, "this vision needs deep study by the Palestinian leadership. This vision can notbe called initiative, it is just ideas."

He said that the Palestinians confirmed to Powell that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) "would never discuss any security issue before Israel completely withdraws its troops and tanks from all cities it recently reoccupied."

Powell promised the Palestinian side that he would discuss theseissues with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when they meet later on Sunday, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2002)