Besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is still the only legitimate representative of the Palestinians, the European Commission said in a document made public this evening.
"The Palestian Authority under its elected leader, Mr Arafat, is the only valid interlocutor for Israel," according to the document which is the basis of a speech delivered by EC President Romano Prodi.
It was released even as US President George W Bush, while calling for an end to the fierce Israeli assault on the West Bank, said Arafat had "failed in his leadership" by not denouncing and cracking down on anti-Israeli violence.
The document called for negotiations to put an end to the escalating Israeli-Palestinian crisis, which saw at least 50 Palestinians and five Israelis reported killed today as the Israelis pounded West Bank towns and refugee camps.
"We need around one table the United States, European Union, United Nations, Russia, moderate Arab states, Israel and Palestinian Authority. We can't get out of this situation with any other, partial solutions," it said.
The document also termed "unacceptable" Israel's refusal to allow Arafat, who has been trapped in his Ramallah headquarters for months, to meet with visiting European envoys, although it allowed US troubleshooter Anthony Zinni to hold talks with the Palestinian leader.
Meanwhile, Mr Arafat was unhurt after Israeli tanks fired machine-guns and tank shells at his besieged offices, injuring three of his bodyguards, said security sources inside the Palestinian leader's offices.
However, the Israeli army said troops by the compound came under fire from a gunman inside the compound and returned fire, but not near Arafat's office where the leader has been holed up.
AFP