Arafat says he'd accept peace-talks offer

By Mark Lavie
The Associated Press

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JERUSALEM — Following an Israeli overture, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said yesterday he is ready for peace talks.

Arafat told reporters he would accept an offer for talks.

"There is no official communication, but we are ready," he said after meeting a delegation of Greek lawmakers at his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

In an abrupt turnaround last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said contacts were already under way with Palestinian officials, adding, "We are ready to enter negotiations at any time." Sharon had previously conditioned talks on a crackdown on violent Palestinian groups responsible for attacks on Israelis.

Talks on the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan have been stalled for weeks because of Palestinian bombing attacks and Israeli military operations, along with the Palestinians' inability to form a stable government.

Arafat has often said he is ready to talk peace, but Israel and the United States are boycotting him, charging he is tainted by terrorism.

The militant Islamic group Hamas, responsible for many of the suicide bombings that have killed Israeli citizens, yesterday ruled out a unilateral cease-fire with Israel but said it would be willing to limit attacks to Israeli soldiers and settlers in the Palestinian territories if Israel stopped harming Palestinian civilians.

The Israelis announced early yesterday that they would let 15,000 Palestinians enter the country for work in what a military announcement referred to as "confidence-building measures." About 150,000 Palestinians held jobs in Israel before violence broke out three years ago.

Before dawn, about 6,200 workers over the age of 35 crowded the Erez crossing point from Gaza, submitted to strict security checks and went to jobs in Israel.

For security reasons, Israeli is refusing to admit younger Palestinians.

"It is a miracle from God because I was running out of money ... and I was thinking how I would manage to feed my children in this very bad economic situation," said Mohammed Salman, a 42-year-old construction worker who has seven children.

However, Salman was unhappy with the security checks, which make a trip from his home in the Jebaliya refugee camp to Tel Aviv last several hours instead of less than an hour.

Material from Reuters is included in this report.

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