The group of international cyclists and organisers of The Peace Cycle had the honour of meeting President Arafat just a few weeks ago, in his compound in Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank. We felt privileged to meet the man who has for decades symbolised the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.

President Arafat spoke to us passionately about the suffering of his people and their longing for peace, both of which we had been witness to during our time in the West Bank. We had seen for ourselves the heartbreaking conditions in which the Palestinian people are forced to live, and how the occupation destroys lives. Yet we were amazed to see something even more powerful and enduring than anything the occupation can affect - we saw hope, courage, and a refusal to hate. We met a people who are yearning for the chance to live at peace with their neighbours and who are crying out to the world to help them achieve this justly.

President Arafat was unfairly accused by Israel and the U.S. of being an obstacle to peace, when it was he who presided over the compromise of giving up 78 per cent of the land on which the Palestinian people had lived for generations. Can there really be a greater obstacle to peace than a military occupation which is condemned worldwide as being the cause of thousands of innocent deaths, both Palestinian and Israeli? Until President Bush recognises Israel's illegal occupation as being what truly prevents peace, he is making himself the biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

We feel deeply saddened by the death of President Arafat and by the sense of loss which the Palestinian people will be feeling. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Palestinian people, who we know to be people of immense warmth and generosity. We will continue to work for an end to the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as the first and crucial step to real and lasting peace for all Palestinians and Israelis.