LONDON, 22 July (AFP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must cede real security powers to the Palestinian government if Middle East peace efforts are to have a chance of success, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday.
"My message to Yasser Arafat is very simple: it is vital that the Palestinian prime minister and his interior minister have effective powers at their disposal," Blair told a Downing Street press conference.
Arafat is locked in a battle with Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei over control of the security services.
Qorei tendered his resignation at the weekend after a spate of kidnappings, but Arafat has refused to accept it, while calling for changes to the prime minister's cabinet.
"There is no way that we will get back into the roadmap without a proper security plan properly implemented," Blair said, referring to the internationally brokered model for peace in the Middle East.
"We have the chance to make progress if we have a proper security plan and if Israel then proceeds with the disengagement proposals, which it must do in my view, in their entirety," Blair argued.