LONDON: As Israel declared Yasser Arafat an enemy and sent tanks crashing into his headquarters yesterday, Europe insisted that he was still a legitimate authority and a partner for peace. “Arafat is our interlocutor ... he remains our interlocutor and the legitimate authority,” said a spokeswoman for the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Israel had a legitimate right to fight terrorism, but “military means are not going to solve the problem of terrorism,” the spokeswoman said.

In telephone calls to the Palestinian leader and Israeli foreign minister Simon Peres, Mr Solana pressed for a ceasefire and urged both sides to seize the opportunity offered by the Arab summit’s endorsement of Saudi peace proposals earlier this week.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.