Ecevit Turkey Is Ready To Mediate Between Israel And Palestine

ANKARA - Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Monday that Turkey was ready to mediate between Israel and Palestine.
Ecevit had a meeting with Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal which lasted more than one hour.
Following the meeting, Ecevit told reporters that he had a phone conversation with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and quoted Arafat as saying that his connection with the whole world was limited to a great extent.
Ecevit said, ''as you all know, new clashes occurred between Israel and Palestine yesterday. It is not right to say new clashes occurred because the Palestinians were a target of some attacks. Some saddening developments are occurring and new developments may occur.''
''I called Arafat on the phone today. He had some complaints. He said that they attacked on his headquarters and attack continued at that moment. He said that all their needs were prevented. He noted that they were face to face with medical problems and had problems in finding water and food. He said that he had a car, but that car was also taken from him. He also said that his communication with the whole world was limited to a great extent,'' Ecevit noted.
Ecevit stated that this was a very serious situation and went on saying, ''in fact, some terrorist groups are staging attacks on Israel; however, Mr. Arafat is not able to prevent those attacks under these conditions. He cannot use his authority.''
Pointing out that in that case, the ways to ensure peace between Israel and Palestine became more difficult, Ecevit said, ''in fact, there are some contacts between the Palestinians and Israelis in New York at the moment. But, as I have said before, it has become more difficult for Arafat to launch initiatives about this issue.''
Ecevit noted that to this end, they would contact with the Israeli authorities later in the day.
''Also, I will send a letter to U.S. President George Bush and request him to closely deal with this issue. We are ready to undertake the role of mediation if needed since we have good relations with Israel and Palestine. Of course, we will inform the officials about this issue.''