The current EU president, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, leading a delegation of EU officials on a visit to the Middle East, met with Prime Minister Sharon, President Moshe Katzav, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres today. The delegation visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem this morning. Yesterday, the group met with Yasser Arafat, telling him that world support for a Palestinian state was growing. They also urged him to crack down on Palestinian terrorism, and he assured them he was doing so. A EU group that was taken on a tour of a PA prison last week to see the \"arrested terrorists\" was not impressed, and came away with the distinct impression that Arafat was merely putting on a show. So reports HaModia in the name of high-ranking security sources.



In a Friday night interview on France’s TF1 TV, French President Jacques Chirac called upon Israel and the PA to immediately return to the negotiating table. This, despite the continuing Palestinian violence and terrorism against Israel. The French leader stated he does not endorse or approve of terrorism, but added that he also disapproves of a situation that results in terrorism.