UN Chief Welcomes Israel's Decision to Lift Siege on Arafat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 30, 2002

UN Chief Welcomes Israel's Decision to Lift Siege on Arafat

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to lift the siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a UN spokesman said.

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United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to lift the siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a UN spokesman said.

The spokesman said in a statement that the secretary-general "strongly believes that both sides should fully implement Security Council resolution 1435 immediately and return to the negotiating table."

"The best path away from violence and stalemate is through the roadmap set out by the Quartet (the United States, Russia, European Union and the United Nations) in its September 17 communique, which aims for a complete end of violence, the early establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders and a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict," said the statement.

The Security Council resolution 1435, adopted Tuesday, urged Israel to lift its siege on Arafat and pull back from the Palestinian areas it has reoccupied since two years ago.

Israeli tanks began leaving Arafat's Ramallah compound Sunday after a 10-day siege, following an Israeli cabinet decision to ease the confinement of the Palestinian leader under mounting international pressure.

"They haven't withdrawn," Arafat told reporters at his office, referring to the Israeli pullback from his devastated compound earlier in the day.

He said Israeli tanks are still stationed meters away from his headquarters, which "is not implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1435."

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