EU seeks to mend post-Arafat mideast fences

The EU today opens two days of talks with Israel and its Arab neighbours to take stock of fresh chances for Mideast peace less than three weeks after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The Europeans are looking to the long-divided Palestinians to use the early days of the post-Arafat era to unite and, with Israel, implement the dormant “road map” peace plan, drafted by the United Nations, the US, the EU and Russia.