Israel Says Summit `Tough'; Talks Break for Night
(Update7)
By Heidi Przybyla
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Middle East peace summit
in Egypt has broken up for the night after leaders held nearly 17 hours of
discussions to try to end more than two weeks of violence between Israelis and
Palestinians.
The talks at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh are expected to resume early
Tuesday morning, news reports said.
U.S. President Bill Clinton held separate meetings with Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak into the early hours after
delaying his return to the U.S.
``We obviously think it's worth continuing to work,'' White House spokesman
Jake Siewert told reporters before the meetings ended. ``People have been
straightforward, focused on solutions and not finger pointing.''
Clinton met three times with Arafat and held four meetings with Barak, though
White House officials said there were still no plans to bring the two together for
their first face-to-face discussions.
The summit, which includes United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan,
began Monday in an effort to bring an end to a Palestinian uprising that has led
to more than 100 deaths since Sept. 28.
Progress is ``going very, very slowly and in a very, very tough way,'' said Danny
Yatom, Barak's security adviser.
Low Expectations
``The level of expectations is very low because the situation is not very simple,''
Yatom said. Barak spokesman Gadi Baltiansky said Israeli and Palestinian
foreign ministers had failed to work out a cease-fire agreement, and another
Israeli official, Nachman Shai, described the lack of progress as ``a crisis.''
Officials at the talks being held at the Jollyville Gold Resort said failure isn't an
option, especially after two Palestinians were killed Monday in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, adding to the toll in the clashes between Israeli troops and
Palestinians.
Clinton and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are among those trying to find
common ground at the summit, and Clinton delayed his return to the U.S. to be
able to meet through the night. ``Our expectation right now is to work and see
what can be achieved,'' Clinton spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Peace Process
Clinton warned that a failure of this summit could spell an end to the Middle East
peace process. Jordan's King Abdullah, UN Secretary General Annan and
European Union security chief Javier Solana sat unsmiling as the meetings
began.
``The future of the peace process is at stake here,'' Clinton told the leaders.
``Remember before these troubling events how far we have come. We shouldn't
give it all up, for what has happened in the past few weeks reminds us of the
terrible alternatives to continuing to live in peace.''
The summit's goals must be mutual disengagement followed by efforts to rebuild
trust among Israelis and Palestinians, Clinton told the leaders. Less than three
months ago, Barak and Arafat came close to an overall peace agreement to end
52 years of conflict during U.S.-brokered talks in Camp David, Maryland.
``Now we're into the heart of the issue,'' Crowley said, referring to the fact that
Clinton has had a chance to listen to both Barak's and Arafat's views.
Asked if he could point to any success, Crowley said, ``This is a work in
progress.''
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet met with Palestinian and
Israeli security officials, White House spokesman Siewert said.
Shake of Hands
Barak and Arafat shook hands briefly during a group meeting of the leaders
yesterday, Barak spokesman Baltiansky said. The Israelis want at least
``something partial'' in terms of an agreement to take home from the talks,
Baltiansky said, describing the talks as ``focused, serious and dry.''
Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian planning and international cooperation minister,
accused the Israelis of intransigence.
``This is a state of mind of an occupier in no way conducive to making this
summit a success, I'm afraid,'' Sha'ath told the British Broadcasting Corp.
The tensions spilled over into the streets of the West Bank and Gaza yesterday,
as some Palestinian groups protested what they said were U.S. and Israeli
efforts to force concessions on them. Throughout Palestinian-controlled territories
demonstrators chanted ``No to Sharm el-Sheikh.''
Violence
Some of the protests became violent. A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was shot
and killed and six others were injured in a clash with Israeli troops in Bethlehem.
At a border crossing in Gaza, Palestinian police and Israeli soldiers exchanged
gunfire, killing one Palestinian and wounding two Israelis. Voice of Palestine
radio said 150 were injured.
Palestinian leaders have said the summit must produce an agreement on an
international investigation into the latest violence and a statement by the
international community that Israel must not use its military might against the
Palestinians in the future.
The summit is ``the kind of event that's full of risks and could blow up at any
point,'' said Hatem Abdel Qader, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
``We see no possibility that Israel will reconsider its position on the issues that
we disagree about.''
Barak, in talks with Annan and Jordan's King Abdullah, underscored his
opposition to a broad-based international probe into the violence, according to a
government statement. Israel would accept a U.S.-led fact-finding committee,
including members nominated by Israel and the Palestinians, Shai said.
Right to Strike
Barak is also unlikely to agree to anything that would limit Israel's ability to
attack Palestinian targets, said Ehud Sprinzak, dean of Hebrew University's
Lauder School of Government. With concerns about terrorist attacks, Israel
wants to retain the right to strike back.
Israel is discussing ways of deterring violence, including improved supervision of
the armed forces, better communications and an expanded monitoring role for
the U.S., said Nimrod Novik, a special adviser to Barak.
Israel wants the Palestinian Authority to end anti-Israeli radio broadcasts and to
re-arrest members of Hamas, a radical Islamic group opposed to the peace
process, who were released last week. Hamas has in the past taken
responsibility for suicide bombings in Israel.
The group says it captured a colonel in the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency.
The man was traveling under a false passport and was trying to infiltrate
Hezbollah, the group said. Israel described the man a businessman and reserve
military officer who was abducted while traveling abroad on personal business.
Earlier this month, Hezbollah captured three Israel soldiers and has said it will
free them in return for the release of 19 Lebanese held by Israel. |
