Egypt Hosts Israel's Rabin to Discuss Impasse on Talks
ISRAELI Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin arrived in Egypt yesterday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on breaking the impasse on the Middle East peace process.
A key item on the agenda was getting the Palestinian delegation to return to the table in Washington on April 20. The other Arab parties - Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon - have not formally accepted the invitation but appear committed to attending.
The Palestinians had refused to accept an invitation to return to the table until Israel repatriated immediately 396 alleged Muslim militants it deported last December to southern Lebanon.
Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, met with Mr. Mubarak in Cairo Tuesday to discuss the peace process.
Israeli newspapers yesterday quoted Palestinian sources as saying Mr. Arafat supports returning to the talks in principle, but would still like to see further Israeli concessions on the deportee issue.
David Sultan, Israel's ambassador to Egypt, said Mr. Rabin would make no concessions beyond a previous offer to return 101 deportees now and the rest by the end of the year. Violence mars Yemen's road to elections
Two weeks before Yemen's first multiparty elections, unidentified assailants launched a nighttime grenade attack on the home of a leading opposition politician, authorities said yesterday. No injuries were reported in the attack on Abdul Rahman al-Jifri, leader of the Sons of Yemen League.
A wave of assassination attempts and other violence has targeted a wide range of politicians during the 18-month runup to Yemen's ballot. Parliament elections have been delayed twice since last November. Yesterday's attack was the third of its kind in the past 10 days on members of the League.
Yemen's elections are set for April 27. About 5,000 candidates are running for the 301-seat Parliament. The League is fielding 92 candidates, including three women, and has endorsed 27 independent candidates. President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Vice President Ali Salem al-Beidh support the General People's Congress and the Yemen Socialist Party, respectively. The Islamist Al Islah Party is also running. Mr. Jifri has been a sharp critic of Yemen's transitional government. Authorities had no leads in the pro be of the attack.
