Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, in an interview with Xinhua late on Wednesday night, thanked China for its persistent and extensive support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause.

"We have very strong relations with the Chinese people. We cannot forget the help from the Chinese people, the government and the party. They help us by all means in all fields," Arafat told Xinhua in the exclusive interview.

The Palestinian leader said he appreciated the declaration by Chinese President Jiang Zemin who opposed the Israeli military attacks against the Palestinians and criticized the Israeli decision to confine Arafat to his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Arafat said China's declaration, as well as that by the European Union, Russia and Japan to the similar effect, is very important.

During his late evening dinner with Xinhua correspondents, Arafat, who paid his first visit to China in 1963, also recalled the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Palestinian peoples.

Arafat Doubts Sharon's Intentions for Peace

Arafat said that he was ready to conduct peace talks with Israel, but was skeptical that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has real intentions to seek peace with the Palestinians. He said the Palestinians are committed to all the agreements they have signed with the Israelis.

"We respect what we have signed with my partner (slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin, the peace of the brave, which has been supported by the international groups. We are committed to and respect our signatures and what we have signed. It is not only my wish and my target, but the target of all the Palestinian people," he said.

Asked whether he believes he can make peace with Sharon, Arafat said: "You have to ask him. I'm ready. But he is repeating everyday that he wants to destroy the Oslo agreements. This has been repeated by him several times and by his cabinet ministers and some of his high officials."

Arafat said the obstacle standing in the way of peace is that "they are not ready to carry on what we agreed upon. We had discussed and had an agreement in Oslo, in Paris, in Wye River (in the United States), in Camp David (in the White House), in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egyptian Red Sea resort). But he (Sharon) is not intending to complete what has been agreed upon."

Asked about the talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Speaker of Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) and the interim agreement they were discussing, the Palestinian leader said: "Nothing has been offered to us. He (Peres) said it was only a gesture."

"If Israelis put forward this proposal," said Arafat, "we can discuss."

Arafat criticized Sharon for not allowing Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Speaker Avraham Burg and President Moshe Katsav to go to Ramallah to address the Palestinian parliament in a bid to call for a cease fire and promote the stalled peace process.

He also revealed that Sharon, who used to send his son as his envoy to meet him, had stopped this "for a long time."

Arafat dismissed the recent meeting between his three senior officials with Sharon in Jerusalem as a tactic used by Israeli prime minister before his trip to the United States.

Arafat said he believed there is still hope for him to reach a peace deal with Sharon, but added that it depends very much on how Israel will act.

"Don't forget, I signed the (Oslo) agreement with (late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin in the White House," he said.

Arafat noted that a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is important not only to peace in the Middle East but also to that of the entire world.

He called on the United States to step up mediation efforts between Israel and the Palestinians to revive the peace process.

"We are looking for the United States because they are the co-sponsors of the peace process, which was started by President George W Bush's father. And we hope President Bush, the son, will complete it. For this, we are looking for a big and strong role from the American administration."

The 73-year-old Palestinian leader, who refreshed himself after a brief meal with his supporters and some journalists, said the Palestinians would be willing to play a more active role in the future peace negotiations.

"We have French initiatives, European initiatives and Egyptian initiatives. The last agreement was reached in (the Egyptian Red Sea Resort of) Taba January 2001. The Last initiative was declared on December 16. We are committed to all the initiatives to achieve peace in the land of peace, in the holy land..."

Arafat Calls for More International Intervention in Mideast

Yasser Arafat called for increased international intervention to prevent the conflict between Israel and Palestine from further deterioration.

"There are Israeli military escalations against us and they continue to siege our cities and towns," Arafat told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "The situation is very dangerous now."

"We are committed to the peace of the brave we have signed. For this, this must be a strong push from the international community... at least to send the observers and the troops," Arafat said.

Blasting Israel for its excessive use of military force against the Palestinian people, Arafat said he did not care about his personal safety. "The most important thing is what our people are facing, not me," he said.

"Besides their siege of towns and cities, they (the Israelis) have also reoccupied big parts of our Palestinian areas which were put under our control according to the Oslo agreements," Arafat said.

Arafat said that during the 16 months of conflicts, "more than 2,100 Palestinians have been killed and 43,000 others were injured, a big ratio of them were handicapped."

Apart from the heavy casualties, Israel also withheld more than one billion dollars of tax money from the Palestinians, Arafat said. "They are actually stealing the money."

"What we are facing is really a tragedy and it has never happened elsewhere in the world," said the 73-year Palestinian leader, who did not hide his emotions, his lower lip trembling. "The United Nations Security Council should send troops, at least international observers to see what happens here."

"There are observers in (the Egyptian peninsula of) Sinai and south Lebanon. Why cannot there be observers in the Palestinian areas?" Arafat asked.

The Palestinian leader particularly urged the United States, the main sponsor of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, to step up efforts to engage in the Middle East.

(People's Daily February 7, 2002)