Saudis, Egyptians pressure Arafat to stamp out terror

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are stepping up their pressure on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to take substantive action against terrorism.

Mohammed Dahlan, head of Preventive Security in Gaza, was invited yesterday to Cairo to meet with Omer Suleiman, head of Egypt's intelligence services. Dahlan, together with Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian liaison with the Saudis, took part in this past weekend's Egyptian-Saudi-Syrian summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

According to intelligence reports in Jerusalem, Dahlan recently sent his family out of the territories due to power struggles inside the PA. The intelligence assessments say Arafat is under external and domestic pressure for reforms that would cut back on his authority.