May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

AL QUDS, May 19: The Israeli government will boycott any foreign official who meets Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said on Monday as it stepped up moves to isolate the Palestinian leader.

Sharon told his cabinet on late Sunday in the wake of a suicide bus bombing in Al Quds that any foreign diplomat or politician who schedules a meeting with Arafat during a trip to the region will not be seen by any Israeli official.

The bar does not apply to five visits already arranged, including one by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who is to see Arafat on 26th in his West Bank compound in Ramallah, Israeli public radio said.

Last week Sharon refused to meet European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana because he was to see Arafat, though Solana is to return to Israel in the next few days when he will have talks with Israeli officials.

Israel accused Arafat on Sunday of inciting attacks by Palestinian militants following suicide blasts which killed nine people over the weekend.—AFP