LONDON: Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, on Friday belatedly accepted a Middle East peace plan put forward 18 months ago by the then US president, Bill Clinton. But the Israeli government said the offer, which was discussed at Taba in Egypt in January last year, was no longer on the table.

In an interview published in the Israeli daily Haaretz, he said: “I am prepared to accept it, absolutely.” During the interview, a Haaretz reporter put the Taba proposals to Mr Arafat and he endorsed each of them.

The main elements of the Taba plan include: a division of Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians; a compromise on the future of the 3.5 million Palestinian refugees; and creation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza.

Mr Arafat’s willingness to accept a deal now will add to the sense of confusion and weakness surrounding his leadership. His isolation was underscored on Friday when Jordan’s King Abdullah claimed that Arafat had lost control over militant groups.

King Abdullah said: “Over the years I always thought Arafat was capable of controlling Palestinian public sentiment and extremism. I think that is no longer the case today.”

Against a background of almost daily fatalities, there is no sign of a peace plan acceptable to both Mr Arafat and the Israeli PM Ariel Sharon. The US president, George Bush, postponed until next week at the earliest a speech in which he is expected to sketch out ideas for the creation of a “transitional” Palestinian state.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.