Arafat may postpone declaration of state: Peres

PARIS, JAN 28

@body:FORMER Israeli Prime minister Shimon Peres said on Thursday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was ready to postpone the May 4 proclamation of a Palestinian state.

“He (Arafat) told me he would wait until after the elections” in Israel, which are set to begin May 17, Peres told TV5 television.

The statement was the first indication that the Palestinian Authority headed by Arafat could be willing to postpone the proclamation of a Palestinian state.

“I said to Yasser Arafat that if you proclaim a state it will be a proclamation and not a state,” Peres said, adding that a `real state’ could only materialise through negotiation and in agreement with Israel.

Peres and Arafat in Washington in 1993 jointly signed the Oslo peace deal and later were awarded the Nobel Peace prize with slain former Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

“I have much respect for Arafat,” said the former Labour premier, describing him as a `serious’political leader.

Peres also expressed concern about the forthcoming Israeli elections, saying the country `is divided half, half’ and the result can only be a very narrow victory.

The final round of the election takes place on June 1.

Peres, in Paris to promote the French edition of his latest book, also said he would be ready to take part in a `government of national unity.’