Palestinian Leaders: War in Iraq to Affect Peace Process

The Palestinian leaders have expressed their anxiety that the war in Iraq may affect the Middle East peace process, said Palestine's extraordinary and plenipotentiary representative to Moscow Hairi al-Oridi at a press conference in RIA Novosti on Friday.

Israel "has already taken the advantage of the beginning of military action in Iraq," he emphasized.

At present Israel is carrying out "large-scale operations in order to strengthen its positions in Palestine," according to al-Oridi. "The Israeli troops are demolishing and destroying Palestinian houses," he explained.

"Neither Palestine nor Russia as a co-sponsor has any information" from the USA about the measures taken in order "to bring Israel back to the negotiations table," the Palestinian representative pointed out.

At the same time, the war in Iraq may seriously affect the Middle East peace process, he believes. After the war, "there may be either the road or the map left" of the settlement plan titled the road map, al-Oridi said.