US Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet tomorrow with Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat, the State Department spokesman Mr Richard Boucher said today.
"Secretary Powell will meet with Chairman Arafat tomorrow (Sunday, April 14th) in Ramallah," Mr Boucher told reporters.
He said Mr Arafat's earlier condemnation of terrorist acts against civilians contained "a number of interesting and positive points."
Those points included a denunciation of yesterday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem, a call to start implementation of a ceasefire plan and political dialogue, a reaffirmation of Palestinian commitment to a negotiated peace and support for Mr Powell on his critical Mideast peace mission.
"In his meeting tomorrow, the secretary will work with Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian leadership to show leadership and to help make these statements a reality with effective action to bring an end to terror and violence and an early resumption of a political process," Mr Boucher said.
Previously, senior Palestinian official Mr Saeb Erakat said the meeting would be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. (7 a.m. Irish time) but US officials had refused to confirm that.
Mr Powell said earlier today that he would make a decision "today" on whether to reschedule a meeting with Mr Arafat that he had cancelled after yesterday's suicide bombing, which left six Israelis, plus the bomber dead, and more than 80 injured.
Mr Arafat's denunciation of terrorism was written in Arabic and read on Palestinian television, two conditions set by the Americans as Mr Powell presses ahead on his quest to halt 18 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Mr Boucher's statement indicated that Mr Arafat's condemnation of terrorism had met key US demands to clear the way for a meeting with Mr Powell.
AFP