Following reports that Yasser Arafat has expressed a desire to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the latter's office responded that Arafat "continues to finance, initiate, operate and dispatch terror [and] will not be a partner for negotiations. In the framework of Israel's efforts to move forward on the diplomatic track and bring about quiet and - in the end - peace, Israel will be prepared to speak only to those Palestinians who are not involved in terror in any way, shape or form."