West Asian peace deal at hand?

WASHINGTON, JULY 16. West Asian summit talks at Camp David have made progress and a framework agreement for a final Israeli- Palestinian peace could be reached within a few days, sources close to the talks said last night.

The sources reported a mood of growing optimism among the Palestinian leader, Mr. Yasser Arafat's team, which has been the most pessimistic in public since the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, called the five-day-old summit.

``They are working on an agreement that could be finalised within a few days. The main problem now is refugees, and a bit on Jerusalem,'' one source said.

The United States has maintained a strict news blackout on the substance of the talks. An Israeli delegation source earlier described the talks as ``very difficult'' and said there had been no breakthrough. The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak's spokesman, Mr. Gadi Baltiansky, said Mr. Barak was prepared to stay two weeks if necessary to get a deal.

The sources ascribed the mood change among the Palestinians to progress on the ultra-sensitive issue of Jerusalem, which both sides want as their capital. They gave no details but the Israeli Parliament Speaker, Mr. Avraham Burg, this week talked of both ``enlarging and shrinking'' Jerusalem - bringing some Israeli settlements close to the city within its boundaries, and putting some existing Palestinian neighbourhoods outside a redrawn area under Israeli control.

Israel and the Palestinians are trying to work out an agreement before a self-imposed Sept. 13 deadline. Mr. Clinton would like to reach a deal before leaving for Japan for a summit of major industrial nations. He is scheduled to leave on Wednesday.

But whether the leaders will be able to reach a deal before Mr. Clinton leaves - or at all - remains a mystery.

Israeli and Palestinian sources said on Saturday they do not expect American ``bridging proposals'' - aimed at bridging the wide gaps between the two sides - until mid-week, which would suggest the summit could be extended while Mr. Clinton is away.

A senior Israeli source said there was a ``reasonable chance'' of achieving a deal at the talks, but it was not clear if the sides could finally resolve all their differences or would defer some issues to a future summit.

Palestinian sources said the summit's first crisis flared on Thursday, when Mr. Arafat threatened to walk out in anger over U.S. compromise proposals Palestinians felt were too close to Israeli positions.

One source told Reuters that Mr. Arafat was so enraged by the ideas presented by U.S. West Asian envoy, Mr. Dennis Ross, that he ordered his delegation to pack their bags.

Presidential intervention and the withdrawal of the U.S. proposal calmed Mr. Arafat, the source said.

Camp David was being watched with great anticipation in West Asia.

Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Saturday to support the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in what is now Israel.

In Israel, several hundred motorists formed a convoy from Tel Aviv toward the northern city of Haifa to show their backing for Mr. Barak's peace policies.

In the West Bank city of Hebron, scuffles broke out between Jewish settlers and Palestinians near the Cave of the Patriarchs, the traditional burial place of the Biblical Abraham as well as the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Araba.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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