The Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, yesterday wound up a tour of three Arab countries after securing support for an emergency Arab summit and $45 million in Saudi aid. Mr Arafat called first on Jordan's King Abdullah, who holds the rotating presidency of the Arab League and is preparing an extraordinary summit.
Mr Arafat next met the ailing King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Abdullah, the effective ruler of the state. This encounter showed that relations have been restored to the level of warmth preceding the 1991 Gulf war. At that time Mr Arafat stood against the Saudi-supported military campaign to drive Iraq from Kuwait. Saudi Arabia retaliated by distancing itself from the conflict and boycotting Mr Arafat.
In June, Saudi Arabia shifted the focus of its diplomatic efforts from Gulf affairs to the ongoing crisis. Prince Abdullah, seen as the Arab nationalist member of the royal family, uttered unprecedented criticisms of the US administration for what the Arabs call its "bias" towards Israel and for its refusal to become actively engaged in peacemaking. He predicted that a war between Israel and the Palestinians could engulf the entire region in a war or give rise to terrorism.
Last month, the US put its forces in the region on the highest state of alert against terrorist attacks and this week Washington issued a general alert to all US citizens.
The escalating conflict has led to tension between Saudi and US personnel at the Prince Sultan air base from which US pilots fly surveillance missions over Iraq. The Saudis have restricted the amounts and types of ordnance the US can bring into the base.
After Prince Abdullah rejected a second invitation to visit the White House, the former US president, Mr George Bush snr, telephoned him with reassurances that his son, the current President, is "going to do the right thing". Prince Abdullah responded by convening urgent ministerial meetings of the Gulf Co-operation Council and the Arab League. Informed sources say Saudi pressure on the US President compelled him to back the G8 summit's call for the deployment of monitors.
Mr Arafat's third stop was the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he was received by the President of the Federation, Shaikh Zayed bin Nahyan, another outspoken critic of US policy.
Palestinian security forces yesterday handed over to Israel the bullet-riddled and stabbed body of an Israeli teenager who Israeli police believe was killed by Palestinians in the West Bank. An Israeli woman was killed last night and a Palestinian injured when unidentified individuals threw stones at cars in the West Bank, causing an accident, Israeli police said. In Gaza, Palestinian witnesses said Israeli soldiers shot an 11-yearold boy in the chest.
