The U.N. Security Council has decided to meet in Geneva Friday to hear PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in what was seen as a compromise to avert a dispute over a U.S. visa for the Palestinian leader.
The announcement Tuesday night came after the United States failed to grant Arafat a visa to address a session in New York.The 15-member Security Council, the highest U.N. body, held several hours of closed consultations on an Arab request for an immediate meeting addressed by Arafat. The meeting is to discuss the escalating violence in Israel's occupied territories and the need to protect Palestinians.
Two years ago, the United States rejected Arafat's request for a visa to address the General Assembly, and the session was moved to Geneva.
This time, however, the United States did not reject or accept the request. Rather, U.S. officials said Arafat did not personally make the request.
Arabs seek to win U.S. support in condemning violence against Palestinians and thus wanted to avert a confrontation over the visa. Israel and influential U.S. lawmakers oppose giving Arafat a visa.
The United States, a member of the Security Council, did not oppose a move to Geneva.
The Security Council has met outside New York only twice: in January 1972 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss African matters, and March 1973 in Panama City to discuss the Panama Canal.