AL QUDS: The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, defied American and Israeli efforts to declare him irrelevant by appearing on Monday before the Palestinian parliament, confirming that elections will be held in January, and making little mention of reforms.

At the first legislative session for 18 months Arafat repeated his earlier condemnation of terror against Israelis, but stopped short of calling for an end to suicide attacks.

His comments were vaguer than those of his interior minister, Abdel Razek Yehiyeh, who leads the Palestinian team discussing security issues with the Israeli government and said recently that the Palestinians should adopt non-violent civil resistance against Israel and end all attacks on civilians.

Arafat addressed Israelis with a call for new negotiations and a plea for understanding. “I would like to say that we want to achieve peace with you. We want security and stability for us and for you ...

“This peace is still ahead of us,” he said in his hour-long speech. “Peace is in front of us and not behind us. After 50 years of struggle, I say it’s enough of the struggle and bloodshed and let’s sit with open hearts around the negotiating table.”

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, said Arafat’s rejection of violence as counter-productive to the Palestinian cause was very significant. “It is a more powerful message for Palestinians than for Israelis,” he commented.

Arafat’s speech seemed mainly designed to show that he was still in charge and unchallengeable as head of the Palestine Authority.

At one point he hinted that he was ready to give up power, but his remarks were more of a joke aside than a serious offer to resign.

Speaking of the need for “unity in the three authorities in the Palestine Authority: the judicial, the legislative and the executive”, he suddenly added: “Unless you want to bring somebody else in the executive authority. I wish you could do it and give me a rest.”

Washington has been urging the Palestinian Authority to delay elections and appoint an executive prime minister so that Arafat can be side- lined as president.

By failing to mention the idea of having a prime minister and insisting that elections for president, parliament, and municipal authorities will go ahead in January, he was rebuffing Washington.

He wants early elections to create international pressure on Israel to lift its curfews and restore freedom of movement in the occupied territories so that campaigning can take place properly.

Monday’s session of the Palestinian legislative council was a graphic symbol of the restrictions imposed by Israel since it sent tanks and troops into most Palestinian cities this spring and summer.

Arafat held the meeting in his sandbagged and heavily damaged compound, apparently because he was afraid that the Israelis might search his quarters if he went to the parliament building in another part of Ramallah.

Israel prevented 12 members making the trip from Gaza, claiming that they had been involved in attacks on Israelis. Several other Gazan members stayed behind in solidarity and took part by a fuzzy video link. Only 47 of the 86 members attended in person.

Raanan Gissin, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, described Arafat’s speech as meaningless and said Palestinian reform would not work as long as he remained in power.

“Peace and reforms can only happen when Arafat is not there,” he said. Paul Patin, a spokesman for the US embassy in Tel Aviv, said Arafat would be judged by his actions, not his words.

Arafat is expected to name his new cabinet, but it was not certain whether the council will be allowed to vote on it.

Several members are critical of Arafat’s authoritarian and opaque leadership style, but there is strong pressure on them to support him formally because of the US and Israeli campaign to undermine him.

It voted to reject a cabinet formed by Arafat in 1997, but he took no notice and kept it in power.

Arafat made two passing references to the prospect of a US war on Iraq and the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.