ABU DHABI. Aug 7: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said today that a new Israeli-Palestinian peace summit could take place when the Democratic National Convention in the United States ends on August 17. reports AFP.

US President Bill Clinton said a new summit could take place after the Democratic convention." Arafat told the official WAM news agency on his arrival in the United Arab Emirates.

The Democratic Party gathering runs from August 14-17 in Los Angeles.

Arafat, on a tour of Arab and other countries to explain the Palestinian position in the wake of,the failure of the Camp David summit played down statements by Clinton that Washington may move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"We must keep in mind that the United States is currently locked in an electoral battle," Arafat said, referring to the size and Importance of the Jewish voting bloc in the United States.

He praised the support given by Arab countries to the Palestinian negotiators and the position of

the International community over eastern Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

We can never forget this Arab. Christian and international position," he said.

Since his return from the Camp David summit, which ended July 25, Arafat has been to several Arab countries, as well as France. South Africa and Turkey, to seek their support for Palestinian claims on Jerusalem, the right of Palestinian refugees to return and the declaration of a Palestinian state.