(Friggin Vichy clone (Barnier), may he be with Yassir one his time arrives..)
On the eve of the first regional visit by newly-appointed French Foreign Minister Michael Barnier, Israeli officials expressed regret that the French continue to court Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Barnier will leave Paris on Sunday for his first official visit to the Middle East, going to Egypt and Jordan. A week later, Barnier will go to the PA for two days for meetings with Arafat, PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, and PA Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath.
Barnier will not come to Israel, apparently because of the government’s policy of not meeting foreign officials who meet Arafat. A French Foreign Ministry communiqu said that Barnier hopes to make a visit to Israel "after the summer." Israeli diplomatic officials said that foreign officials’ policy of going to see Arafat is "unwise," and has done nothing to move forward the cause of reform in the PA. Barnier would have done better, the officials said, had he heeded the example of half-a-dozen other foreign ministers who have visited Israel recently without paying a call on Arafat. The officials said that no visit by Barnier to Israel has yet be finalized.
Barnier’s visit to Arafat comes at a time of increasing international pressure, especially from Egypt, on the Palestinians to take some power from Arafat and streamline the PA’s security forces. Israeli diplomatic officials have said in the past that the visits of foreign dignitaries to Ramallah embolden Arafat with the feeling that he still has international support.
In its statement, the French Foreign Ministry said the purpose of Barnier’s visits to the region will be to "reiterate the determination of France and the European Union to seek solutions to break the current impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The minister will reaffirm our commitment to the road-map and discuss the new opportunity that may come from the prospect of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, to which Egypt is making an important contribution." |