Published March 20, 2002
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Yasser Arafat will be free to travel to an Arab summit next week if the Palestinian leader agrees to a cease-fire, but hinted Arafat may not be allowed back if the violence persists while he is gone.
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In another incentive for a truce, Vice President Dick Cheney said he would meet Arafat if it is achieved. It would be Arafat's highest-level contact with the Bush administration.
Both sides said a truce to halt 18 months of Palestinian-Israeli violence could be declared after a crucial meeting of security commanders set for today. Violence continued yesterday, with an Israeli soldier and two Palestinians dying in a gunbattle and a Palestinian civilian shot to death by Israel troops.
In a statement yesterday, the Palestinian Cabinet said it is prepared to implement a cease-fire "according to a time table agreed on by both sides, without any delay." The statement complained that "troops are still surrounding the Palestinian territories with a tight siege and continuous aggression against the Palestinian people."
Cheney, ending a 24-hour stop in Israel, said he expected Arafat to take decisive steps to end Palestinian attacks on Israelis by week's end.
"I cannot emphasize enough how important it will be this week for Chairman Arafat to take the steps to get the cease-fire started," Cheney said at a news conference with Sharon.
Arafat wants to attend a March 27-28 Arab summit in Beirut, at which Saudi Arabia is expected to present a proposal for broad Arab-Israeli peace in exchange for a return of the territories Israel occupied in 1967 - the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
These ideas have been welcomed by the United States and European Union, but Sharon opposes a total withdrawal from territory he considers strategically valuable.
Sharon expressed his expectations of Arafat at the summit and added an implied warning.
"We would expect that he will speak on the importance of peace and regional stability," Sharon said.
Asked whether Arafat would be allowed to return to the Palestinian territories after the summit, Sharon said: "If it turns out that he didn't act in that way, the Cabinet will meet and will have to make a decision. I wouldn't rule out any possibilities."
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat denounced the comments, saying, "Sharon cannot put an obstacle on the movement of Arafat and cannot dictate to us what we should say or not say," he said.
