Wed Jan 8,10:30 AM ET Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) meets Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of European Central Bank President, at Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank City of Ramallah, January 8, 2003. The European Union (news - web sites) said on Wednesday an Israeli decision to ban Palestinians from attending next week's Middle East conference in London was hampering efforts to end the bloodshed in the region. REUTERS/Osama Silwadi