U.S. Pushing Israel to Accept Arafat for Negotiations
The White House is making last-minute efforts to persuade the Israeli government that it must deal with Yasir Arafat even as the Israelis are conducting a sustained campaign to discredit him.

The dueling campaigns come as both sides prepare for a meeting here between President Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday.

The immediate challenge for Mr. Bush, one senior foreign policy aide said, is to "convince the Israelis it's in their long-term interest to deal with Arafat, no matter how reprehensible he may be."

But in recent days, the Israeli officials have been campaigning to dismiss Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority as a plausible negotiating partner, based on documents Israel has seized in raids on the West Bank, and interrogations of some 1,800 Palestinians arrested during the offensive, including senior aides to Mr. Arafat.
U.S. Pushing Israel to Accept Arafat for Negotiations