Yasser Arafat: War Against Iraq will Sap Mideast Security System

A war against Iraq will totally sap the security system in the Middle East, Palestinian National Authority leader Yasser Arafat said Monday as he spoke at the Palestine Legislative Assembly.

Arafat called on the international community to prevent a war in the Persian Gulf region and urged the "Middle East quartet" - Russia, the U.S., the EU and the UN - to formulate a mechanism for the implementation of the "road map" of Palestinian-Israeli settlement and to send international observers to the region.