Conflict escalating, Arafat says

CAIRO, SEPT. 30. The Palestinian President, Mr. Yasser Arafat, said today the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was escalating despite a renewed pledge by both parties to reinforce a ceasefire.

Mr. Arafat told reporters before meeting the Egyptian President, Mr. Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo that an agreement he reached with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Shimon Peres, last week which reaffirmed a previous ceasefire had failed to stop the bloodshed.

``Despite my political meeting with Peres, there is a deliberate escalation from military leaders and some political leaders on all fronts,'' Mr. Arafat said after arriving in Cairo.

He did not speak to reporters at the end of his talks with Mr. Mubarak. He is due to travel to Ammanlater in the day.

Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab states which have signed peace treaties with Israel. Mr. Arafat regularly consults leaders in both countries on regional developments. As Mr. Mubarak and Mr. Arafat met, around 3,000 students held a peaceful protest at Cairo university in support of the year-old Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation, sources said.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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