THE Palestinian president, Mr Yasser Arafat, said yesterday that his negotiators had achieved nothing in their crisis talks with Israel.
With the talks apparently deadlocked on the issue of Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank city of Hebron, Mr Arafat urged Palestinians to be "fully prepared to confront all possibilities". His bleak assessment followed his warning, published in an Egyptian newspaper, that Palestinian frustration was building and could lead to an explosion.
Those who believe that I can stop an intifada [popular uprising] of the Palestinian people are making a big mistake, and are ignoring the fact that the people are disappointed and in pain because of the humiliation and the injustice, the PLO leader told Al Musawar.
Mr Arafat's comments have angered Israeli leaders, who hold him responsible for last month's bloody clashes.
