Prague, 20/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - Roundly criticised by the EU, Palestinians and Czechs for the comments he is reported to have made comparing the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat to Adolf Hitler (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.5), the Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman said on Tuesday that he had been misquoted, and his remarks had been altered by the Israeli paper Ha'aretz. I would like to stress, said Mr Zeman, that I have never compared Arafat with Hitler. I would like to point out that the Czech Republic's foreign policy for the Middle East has always been carried out in close connection with the European Union's common foreign and security policy.