Peres-Arafat meeting could still happen
Palestinian officials said a Peres-Arafat meeting could take place today or tomorrow morning, before the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
A US State Department official said it was looking into the new possibilities that opened with Syria’s cancellation of the Arafat visit to Damascus.
The United States has been pushing for a Peres-Arafat meeting at the earliest possible opportunity and the Perese said Israel cannot be seen as defying Washington’s wishes.
‘‘The President of the United States calls the Prime Minister of Israel and puts extraordinary pressure on him, asking that the meeting take place,’’ Peres told Israel Radio.
‘‘Secretary of State Colin Powell calls three times a day to ask for the meeting.’’
A senior Palestinian official, meanwhile, said the two sides had already agreed on the first elements of a ceasefire.
He said that under the agreement Israel’s blockade of Palestinian towns and villages would be eased within 48 hours of the Peres-Arafat meeting.
The Hebrew newspaper Maariv today published what it said were details of the truce agreement.
It said that together with the easing of the blockade, the two sides would renew joint security cooperation and the Palestinians would implement counter-terrorism measures.
