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Politics : Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SOROS who wrote (428)	9/22/1998 1:40:00 PM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 1151

Jerusalem Post - 09/22/98 By Danna Harman US President Bill Clinton is seeking to hold a summit with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in New York next week - if the two sides are able to bridge most of the gaps between them by then. Netanyahu's spokesman Aviv Bushinsky said that as far as he knows there is "no intention to hold a three-way meeting." AP, however, citing anonymous sources, said that while Arafat is still undecided, Netanyahu is agreeable. Arafat, in Cairo Wednesday for the opening of the Arab League meetings, called upon Arab and Moslem leaders to support his planned declaration of independence on May 4, 1999. He alleged that the IDF is making plans for an attack if he declares statehood. The government, in response, said the consequences of such a unilateral declaration would be dire. "The Israeli army has begun... to get ready against this [declaration]... and has already begun training to storm the Palestinian territories," Arafat said at the meeting. Cabinet secretary Dan Naveh, speaking in Jerusalem to a group of lawyers, said that "whoever thinks Israel will sit with arms crossed as they take one-sided steps is sorely mistaken." He would not elaborate on what the government would do in such a scenario, but stressed that the Palestinians would be fully responsible for any and all consequences of such an action. Netanyahu, in a television interview, reiterated this line, saying that declaring statehood would be a blatant snub to the peace agreements and would lead to their cancelation. Netanyahu advised Arafat to concentrate on reaching the final status negotiations. Members of the Arab League voiced support for Arafat's position and spoke out against what they called Israel's "racist and elitist," attitudes towards the Palestinians. "If the current Israeli government continues to freeze the peace process until it reaches a bursting point, the doors will be open to the other, more dangerous, options," Secretary-General Esmat Meguid said in a report presented to the league. Meanwhile, a senior PA official suggested there is some movement toward agreement. He said that although there is no official agreement yet, the PA has in effect accepted the principle of a nature reserve on 3 percent of land in the Judean Desert. He said that disagreement still exists, however, over the responsibilities the PA will have in the reserve. The most important obstacle to reaching an agreement remains the third phase of redeployment, the official said. Mohammed Dahlan, the PA's Preventive Security Chief in Gaza, told The Jerusalem Post that "we have been discussing the [security] memorandum with the Americans and are now waiting for the Israelis to tell us what exactly they want to change." US envoy Dennis Ross, meeting with Crown Prince Hassan and Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh in Amman Wednesday, said it is too soon to hold funeral services for his current mission here. "I have found real strong intent on both sides to try to find ways to overcome differences," Ross said, adding that he will remain in the region for a few more days to try to "change the atmosphere" and "overcome those differences." Asked if he is disappointed with his mission, Ross replied, "I have not finished this visit." A statement released by an official French-Egyptian working group currently discussing the peace process indicated that if Ross' mission were to fail, the group would be able to suggest other ways to bridge the gaps between the sides. "We cannot settle for a failure of the peace process," said the statement. "The goal of this initiative is to restart the peace process by mobilizing the international community, and urging the parties concerned to reach reasonable and acceptable solutions."