Abbas will not talk peace unless Arafat is free to travel
US President George W Bush is due to unveil a “road map” shortly, aimed at reviving negotiations after two and a half years of bloodshed in the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, and Abbas’s stand may delay such talks.
Analysts say Abbas fears that accepting a White House invitation would make him look like a US lackey in Palestinian eyes unless Israel stops trying to isolate Arafat.
Washington, Israel's key ally, wants the veteran president sidelined.
The right-wing Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said Arafat is free to leave his Ramallah base and go abroad, but it will not guarantee to let him return.
Arafat appointed his longtime associate as the Palestinians’ first prime minister under international pressure for democratic reforms seen as critical to peaceful coexistence with Israel.
Israeli forces besieged and partly demolished Arafat’s West Bank compound last year after a spate of suicide bombings by militants that it and Washington say have been incited and funded by the Palestinian president throughout the uprising.
Arafat denies fomenting violence and has repeatedly denounced suicide attacks.
The Bush administration says it will have nothing more to do with him and will regard Abbas as the Palestinian leader in future international relations.
