JEDDAH, 12 November 2004 — The new Palestinian leadership is prepared to resume the peace process with Israel without delay, “even immediately”, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told Arab News yesterday.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Shaath said it was unfair to blame Yasser Arafat for the deadlock in the peace process that began almost four years ago.

“The Israelis used Arafat as an excuse to derail the peace process,” he said. “With Arafat now gone, they have no excuse.”

Shaath said the framework for the resumption of talks should be the so-called road map proposed by US President George W. Bush and supported by the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

“We are ready to meet our obligations,” Shaath said. “We must work together to create security for both sides.”

It what sounded like informal guidelines for negotiations, Shaath said both sides should take measures to reduce tension and refrain from acts that might harm the cause of peace.

He said the Palestinians looked to President Bush and other sponsors of the road map to move fast to revive hopes of a peaceful settlement to the 50-year old conflict.

Asked to comment on reports of a power struggle within the Palestinian leadership, Shaath said much of that came from “sources with doubtful intentions.” He said the Palestinians realized that this was a crucial moment in their history and that they cannot afford any internecine feuds.

“Our institutions are working in accordance with the Basic Law,” Shaath said. “People should wait and see how we work before they judge us.”

He said there was a large measure of consensus on free and fair elections, and called upon the international community to help organize the elections within the 60-day limit envisaged by the Basic Law (constitution).

“Israel must end its occupation of our cities and let us breathe,” Shaath said. “The Israelis must remove the road blocks, let our people move, and resume a normal life as we prepare for the elections.”

He said Israel should not attempt to interfere in the Palestinian people’s forms of mourning their lost leader.

“The Israelis should stop trying to dictate our joys and our sorrows,” Shaath said. “They should let us be, at least in this moment of grief.”

Shaath said the Palestinians would always remember Arafat as the man who brought them together and gave them a national identity.

“Before Arafat, we were refugees seeking charity in the eyes of the world,” the foreign minister said. “Arafat gave us a sense of dignity, made us realize that we are a nation, and persuaded the whole world to recognize us as such. Even the Israelis who never mentioned the word Palestinian ended up accepting that we are a people, a nation.”

Asked why the exact causes of Arafat’s death were not revealed, Shaath said he did not think that was due to any obscure motives. He rejected suggestions by some Palestinian personalities, including Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, that Arafat had been poisoned. Shaath said he believed there were no grounds for such suppositions.

“We trust the French government and the French doctors who treated Abu Ammar,” Shaath said. “The French doctors conducted

extensive tests on Arafat and his blood samples were analyzed in laboratories in France and Germany. No trace of any poisoning was found. Now, if some wish to ignore the facts, that is a matter for them.”

He said he could not say why the French doctors had not stated the cause of death which is routine practice. But he said it was wrong to read anything into that.

Asked to comment on President George W. Bush’s call for Palestinians to adopt a democratic system, Shaath said his people demanded nothing but a chance to express their will through free elections.

“We want elections and we are ready for them,” he said. “The world has a duty to help us hold elections.”

Shaath said Arafat had wished to be buried in the Noble Precinct in Jerusalem, but the Palestinian leaders did not wish to make this an additional issue with Israel. He added that Palestinians were confident that there would come a day when Arafat’s wish is realized. For the time being, however, Arafat would rest in Ramallah that witnessed “one of the most heroic phases in his life.”

The Palestinian leader said he had no knowledge of new initiatives by Washington but added that the Palestinian leadership was ready to do its part in any effort aimed at reviving the peace process.

Shaath said he welcomed British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s statement that the Palestinian issue was “the most urgent” on the international agenda.

But he said the idea of holding a special international conference on Palestine in London had not yet been discussed by the new Palestinian leadership.