Middle East peace talks end in deadlock

8:00 AM

WASHINGTON - Five days of Middle East peace talks have ended in Washington without breakthroughs toward a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But President Clinton, with just four weeks left in office, offered the negotiators some ideas on how to proceed and the leaders will tell him by next Wednesday whether the time is ripe for them to come to Washington, added the Israeli negotiator, Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami.

Clinton is eager to crown his peacemaking efforts with a historic deal on the toughest disputes, including Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and the size of a Palestinian state.

He is thinking of calling Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to Washington for meetings that could bring an end to more than 50 years of conflict.

But Saeb Erekat, head of the Palestinian delegation, told reporters after talks with Clinton at the White House: "Major gaps still exist. There are differences on refugees, on Jerusalem, on security and on territorial issues."

"This morning we heard ideas from President Clinton (which) we will convey to Arafat and then we will take it from there as to what will be the next step," he added.

Ben-Ami said: "We will ... report to the leaders and we expect that by Wednesday they will be in a position to report back to the President on whether or not they see the ideas and the concepts that were discussed here as an appropriate basis for them proceeding with meetings with the president."

Clinton would start with separate meetings but might then bring Barak and Arafat together, he said.

Another idea is that Clinton would send an envoy to the Middle East to try to bridge some of the gaps before calling the high-stakes summit, U.S. officials said.

"We will make no decisions until we hear back from the parties," added P.J. Crowley, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House.

Asked what ideas Clinton came up with, Crowley said: "He made some suggestions based on what we've heard from them. They plan to take these ideas back. ... Whether progress is made depends on the parties."

"It's premature to talk about a summit until there is real progress on the substance," he added.

In the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday, Arafat said many obstacles had to be overcome for peace talks to succeed.

"Unfortunately there are many hurdles and the Israelis have even begun to retreat from what they were saying before," he told Jordanian state television on arrival at Amman airport.

Arafat said only a full Israeli troop withdrawal from all areas captured in the 1967 Middle East war could bring a lasting peace settlement.

Erekat said an agreement should carry out U.N. resolutions 242 and 338, which also call for Israeli withdrawal, as well as resolution 194, which says Palestinians have a right to return to their homes in Israel or receive compensation.

The Israelis want the Palestinians to renounce the "right of return" in exchange for a better deal on Arab East Jerusalem, part of the territory captured in 1967.

Ben-Ami told American Jewish leaders on Saturday that a peace agreement with the Palestinians would have to recognise Palestinian control of the surface of the Temple Mount, the most sensitive part of East Jerusalem.

And during this week's talks, at secluded Bolling Air Force Base, Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Israelis were close to conceding Palestinian sovereignty over Arab East Jerusalem, including the holy sites in the city.

"Israeli flexibility is a function of Palestinian flexibility," an Israeli official said in response.

Despite talk of a crisis in the peace talks on Thursday night, Erekat and Ben-Ami showed no signs of rancour.

Erekat said the talks had been tough but the Palestinians were committed to doing everything possible to reach a deal. Ben-Ami called the talks fruitful, serious and encouraging.

Analysts say the timetable is especially auspicious for a deal right now. Clinton leaves office on January 20, Barak needs an agreement to help him win re-election in February and the Palestinians know a right-wing victory in the Israeli election could hold up a peace agreement for years.

Crowley said Clinton was "determined to reach an agreement if the parties can see their way forward."

"The United States' interest in the Middle East will not end on January 20 but there is an opportunity here, taking advantage of the experience that our Middle East team has gained over eight years," he added.

- REUTERS

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