Arafat not to attend Arab League summit

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will not attend the Arab League summit in Beirut this week, according to a statement released by the Palestinian cabinet.

The statement said Mr Arafat has decided to remain in his homeland because of Israeli conditions on his departure and a threat not to let him return if he leaves the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had refused to let Arafat travel unless he managed to secure a ceasefire from Palestinian militant groups and told his people to end all violence against Israel.

The summit in Lebanon, due to begin today, is expected to debate a watered-down version of Saudi Arabia’s proposal for a lasting peace in the Middle East.

The Saudis offered complete normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world if Israel withdrew from all the land it illegally occupied in the 1967 Six Days War, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.