RAMALLAH, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The Palestinian National Authority(PNA) welcomed on Saturday evening the European Union's initiative to follow up Israel's pullout from Gaza, according to local press reports on Sunday.

    Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's top aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the PNA welcomed the EU's plan "to follow up the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip which must be a step of the roadmap." Rudeineh told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, "The PNA will deal with this initiative seriously and in great attention."

    Rudeineh also asserted that the peace process reached a deadlock due to the continuous Israeli attacks and the attitude of the United States.

    The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana revealed on Sunday that the EU intended to contribute to the implementation of the roadmap by sending army experts to train policemen in the Palestinian security apparatuses.

    "Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip should be the first step in a process that leads to the pullout from all the occupied areas, " said Solana. Enditem