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TITLE: Israel Awaits Arafat's Answer to Clinton |
AUTHOR: Herb Keinon |
PUB: Jerusalem Post |
DATE: December 26, 2000 |
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Israeli officials expressed cautious optimism yesterday about the likelihood that both Israel and the Palestinians will say "yes" to US ideas for moving the peace process forward, even as Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said upon returning from consultations in Egypt that he needs to "review" the issues. In an interview on Channel 2's Nissim Mishal last night, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said: "It will be very difficult to refuse to discuss [US President Bill] Clinton's proposals if the other side accepts them... That would exact of Israel too great an international price if everyone agrees - Arafat, Europe - and just we refuse." Nevertheless, Barak admitted the agreement will be "as difficult as hell for usemotionally." "We still have to thoroughly review the American suggestions," Arafat told reporters in the Gaza Strip after returning from a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "There are a lot of obstacles." He said that the proposals were not significantly different from those made at Camp David in July. One Israeli source well acquainted with the negotiations said that, despite public comments by Palestinian leaders yesterday saying that the American ideas did not go far enough, the impression gleaned from the negotiators who sat with their Palestinian counterparts in Washington was that they would accept the proposals as a basis to continue negotiating. Arafat's comments were mild compared to those of Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Ahmed Qurei, who told Palestine Radio that Clinton's proposals don't answer the yearnings of the Palestinians. Qurei, who boycotted the Washington talks, said that wide gaps existed on all the issues: Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, settlements, refugees, and even overall security issues. West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said that, although progress was made in Washington as a result of the pressure from the intifada, the Israeli concessions were not enough. "We can't sign this kind of agreement," he said in a Channel 1 interview. "The intifada will continue, and will be escalated in the next few weeks." Barak continued to consult with his aides yesterday on what was discussed in Washington , but it seemed certain that he would respond positively to the Clinton proposals. "The general feeling," said an official in Barak's office, "is that, with some reservations, these are proposals that could serve as a basis for further negotiations." One diplomatic officials said that, although it seems clear that Barak is willing to accept the US proposals, "there has not been any clarity on what the Palestinian think of the proposals. The bottom line is now to wait and see if they rise to the bait," he said. Barak is scheduled to convene his security cabinet tomorrow morning to discuss the proposals and decide whether to accept them. If both the Palestinians and the Israelis accept the proposal, an Israeli source said, the next move will be for Barak and Arafat to hold separate meetings with Clinton, possibly as early as the end of this week, in Washington. If those talks progress well, then a three-way summit to flesh out the final obstacles could be held the following week. Clinton has set January 10 as the final deadline for coming to an agreement under his watch."We believe that a fair and workable agreement was outlined in Washington," a USdiplomatic official said yesterday. "We expect responses by Wednesday." This statement, a clear indication that the US does not want to see any foot-dragging now, follows statements Barak made to his cabinet Sunday saying that the deadline is not immutable. There were also statements attributed to the Palestinian leadership yesterday calling for tomorrow's deadline to be pushed back. One diplomatic source said that time is very short, and that the deadline was set on the 10th because "Clinton also has other things to tend to before he leaves office" 10 days later. In addition, the source said, if Clinton continued to negotiate all the way up to the inauguration of Geroge W. Bush, it would appear as if he were reluctant to relinquish the reins of power. The basic contours of the US proposals are as follows: * Israel will relinquish 95 percent of the West Bank, and all of the Gaza Strip, to Palestinian control. Another 5 percent of land will be transferred to the Palestinians in the Halutza area in the Negev, adjoining the Gaza Strip. * Jerusalem will be divided, with the Palestinians receiving sovereignty over the Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, and Israel over the Jewish neighborhoods. * The Palestinians will get sovereignty over the Temple Mount, with some kind of guarantees granted to Israel to ensure that the Palestinians do not dig underneath the mount, believed to hold the remnants of the First and Second Temples. The Western Wall, Jewish Quarter, and part of the Armenian Quarter will remain under Israeli control. * Palestinian refugees will be able to return to the new Palestinian state, but - except for humanitarian cases of family reunification - not to pre-1967 Israel. * Eighty percent of the settlements will be annexed to Israel in settlement blocs close to the Green Line, meaning that some 40 settlements in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria will have to be vacated. * When the agreement is signed, the Palestinians will declare an end of the conflict. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami yesterday spent much of the day talking to about a dozen of his counterparts in Europe, briefing them on the proposals and Israel's position.One diplomatic source said that he does not see any problem with Israel accepting the proposals, but is still not clear on how the Palestinians will answer Clinton. If they refuse, however, it will be clear to the international community that they are the ones who refused to rise to the occasion and take the bait, the source said. END |