US could kill Middle East peace - Arafat

Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told the United States on Wednesday it could kill all hope of peace in the Middle East if it gave assurances to Israel on keeping West Bank settlements.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in Washington to seek support for a plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, but he has emphasised that the Jewish state aims to strengthen its hold on the West Bank enclaves.

Palestinian leaders fear President George Bush could make promises to Sharon that imply backing for Israel's occupation of land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and reject the eventual right of Palestinian refugees to return.

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