Yasser Arafat met this week with two \"representatives\" of Israeli or Jewish interests. Yesterday, Rabbi Moshe Hirsch - who claims to represent the anti-Zionist religious Neturei Karta sect - met with Arafat, and gave him a message of encouragement for the Palestinian people in \"its struggle against the secular state\" that, he claims, is an obstacle to the arrival of the Messiah. Today, Arafat met with Arab MK Azmi Bishara in Ramallah. It was reported that the two discussed the political scene in light of the upcoming Sharon government, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell\'s recent visit to the region.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell described Sharon yesterday as a thinking leader who is willing to put his past behind him and to extend a hand to the Palestinians in an effort to end the cycle of violence. He said that Arafat, however, is adhering to his old positions and is probably not doing everything he can to rein in the violence.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell described Sharon yesterday as a thinking leader who is willing to put his past behind him and to extend a hand to the Palestinians in an effort to end the cycle of violence. He said that Arafat, however, is adhering to his old positions and is probably not doing everything he can to rein in the violence.