41. Israeli news reports said Peres met Tuesday night in Paris with the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Ahmed Qureia, to discuss ways of curbing the violence. 42. Israel wanted to keep the size of the council small, saying a bigger assembly would become a de facto Palestinian parliament, an attribute of statehood. 43. Last week, the Palestinian parliament called for a reform package. 44. Mahmoud Abbas, a senior PLO official close to Arafat, said the Palestinian parliament will declare independence within three years. 45. Moawia al-Masri, an Islamic bloc member of the Palestinian parliament said the detentions are humiliating for any Palestinian. 46. Nabil Amr, an Arafat adviser and member of the Palestinian parliament, accused Israel of trying to torpedo the upcoming Clinton-Arafat meeting. 47. On Monday the Palestinian parliament voted ovewhelmingly to cancel clauses in the Palestinian National Charter that called for the destruction of Israel. 48. On Tuesday, the Palestinian parliament speaker, Ahmed Qureia, said the Palestinian leadership supported protesters demanding Israel release prisoners. 49. On Thursday, the Palestinian parliament put together a list of reform demands, including a disbanding of the Cabinet. 50. On Thursday, the Palestinian parliament put together a list of reform demands, including disbanding the Cabinet and calling elections for president and parliament. |