WEST BANK: YASSER ARAFAT'S ADDRESS TO RALLY скачать в хорошем качестве

WEST BANK: YASSER ARAFAT'S ADDRESS TO RALLY

(7 Apr 2000) Arabic/Nat Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has promised Palestinians living in Lebanon that he will protect them if violence erupts when Israel carries out its planned withdrawal from the south of the country later this year. Arafat's pledge was the first time the Palestinian leader spoke on the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon since Israel announced its plans for a unilateral withdrawal. His comments will fuel speculation that an Israeli pullout from Lebanon could seriously destabilise the entire Middle East region. And on the eve of new peace talks in Washington, Arafat also raised the pressure on Israel, telling his supporters that he is prepared to support another armed uprising against Israeli occupation, if no progress is made in the peace process. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Friday turned out for a rally of his supporters from the Fatah political faction in the West Bank city of Nablus. In his address to the rally, Arafat spoke about the future of Palestinian refugees who fled their homes Israel in 1967 and now live in exile in Lebanon. In his first comments on the subject since Israel announced plans to withdraw from southern Lebanon in July, the Palestinian leader said he would offer his protection to Palestinians in Lebanon if violence breaks in the event of an Israeli pullout. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "I say to our people in Lebanon, the Lebanese and Palestinians there, we are with you and we will not allow anybody to touch you. You remember when I left Lebanon in 1982 some people asked me when I was going to the ship where are you going now, I said I am going to Jerusalem." SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority As Arafat spoke, Israeli negotiators were set to reopen talks with the Palestinian Authority in Washington. In what looked like a stark warning to them, the Palestinian leader said that he was prepared to back a new armed uprising, like the long-running intifadeh against Israeli occupation, if negotiations do not move forward. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "I am ready for another intifadeh if I don't see the peace process moving forward." SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Arafat's pledge to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will heighten fears that a unilateral Israeli withdrawal could destabilise the entire Middle East. It follows renewed fighting in Southern Lebanon on Friday morning, an ominous sign of violence to come. Israel has occupied 10 percent of Lebanese territory, along Lebanon's southern border, since 1985 as a buffer against guerrilla attacks on northern Israel. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...