Arafat: Mideast situation could spin 'out of our control'

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat

By Rula Amin
CNN Correspondent

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat accused Israel on Monday of failing to carry out its commitments to the current cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians.

Arafat made the comments in Jordan before a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, who were in the Jordanian capital to follow up on support they pledged for the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict.

The ministers, representing eight Arab states and the Palestinian Authority, have been meeting periodically to search for ways to provide both financial and political support for the Palestinians.

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Arafat told the representatives that he was not optimistic about the current state of the conflict, saying it was very dangerous and could spin "out of our control."

He said the cease-fire won't last on its own if Israel does not stop its settlement activities and does not lift the closure on Palestinian territories.

He accused the Israeli army of protecting settlers who continue attacks on Palestinians.

Israeli police, meanwhile, said Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli motorist and wounded another in an ambush in the West Bank as the shaky cease-fire continued to hold. Police also said that earlier on Monday they found and detonated two bombs in Haifa, Israel.

A meeting of security chiefs had been planned for Monday evening to discuss the next step in the U.S.-brokered cease-fire.

Arafat appealed to the world community to put pressure on Israel to advance the cease-fire a step further and would like to see international observers oversee the implementation of the truce. The last time the foreign ministers met, in May, they recommended that all 22 league members suspend political contacts with Israel as long as it continued its "aggression and occupation."