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S P E C I A L Struggle for Peace

Israel: No pullbacks without Palestinian security commitments

March 29, 1998
Web posted at: 7:56 p.m. EST (0056 GMT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel said Sunday after talks with a U.S. mediator that no new troop pullbacks will be made from the West Bank unless the Palestinians make reciprocal security pledges.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two hours of talks with U.S. envoy Dennis Ross Sunday night. When they finished, Ross headed to Gaza for talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Looking strained and fatigued after meeting Arafat, Ross said his talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders had been "thorough" and that U.S. ideas to end a year-long peacemaking stalemate were under "refinement." He said he would return to Washington to report on the discussions.

Arafat, looking angry as he left the session, declined to answer questions about whether any progress had been achieved in his third meeting with Ross in as many days.

After Ross' earlier meeting with Netanyahu, the prime minister's top aide, David Bar-Illan, said Arafat had so far not backed the idea of reciprocal security steps in exchange for Israeli troop pullbacks.

"The main problem today was that Arafat has not yet replied to our questions and those of the Americans on how much he would be willing to do to comply with the security requirements set out by the United States," Bar-Illan said.

"There will be no redeployment unless we see some action on compliance," he said.

Ross and Arafat
Ross and Arafat in a meeting Friday  

Ross and Netanyahu agreed to meet again Monday, Bar-Illan said. The Sunday meeting was supposed to be their last.

U.S. officials reportedly are proposing that Israel hand over 13.1 percent of West Bank territory to the Palestinians in exchange for Palestinian steps to combat Islamic terrorists.

The Israeli Cabinet a week ago rejected the proposal, and Netanyahu has said Israel could hand over no more than 9 percent without compromising national security.

Meanwhile, the Maariv daily newspaper on Sunday quoted U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as telling U.S. Jewish leaders that the peace process was "not moving forward" and that it was "nearing the end."

"The process is in trouble, we cannot continue this way," Albright reportedly said. "One option is simply for us to remove ourselves from the process."

Albright's comments 'exaggerated'

Albright's comments were made during a conference call to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the newspaper said.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the conference, said the paper "exaggerated" Albright's comments.

"She said the peace process is coming to a dangerous point, a decisive point, and if there isn't movement it could disintegrate," Hoenlein told The Associated Press.

He added that Albright is concerned the situation could deteriorate to the point that it would open the door to extremists.

He also said Albright told the group the United States chose to present the proposal Ross is currently peddling in the region, rather than withdraw from the process.

A mini-summit in Washington?

The Palestinians have previously said they wanted a 30 percent pullback, but media reports have said Arafat would accept 10.

"This is still under discussion," Arafat told reporters in Gaza when asked if the reports were true.

Arafat on Sunday told reporters he would welcome a Middle East peace mini-summit in Washington, attended by other world leaders, to bless the implementation of a withdrawal accord.

A Palestinian official said the summit proposal came from the United States, but Israelis were unaware of it.

Bar-Illan said Netanyahu previously had suggested a Camp David-style meeting with Arafat.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter first broke ground in the Middle East peace process in 1978, when he hosted talks between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat. The talks resulted in a treaty that made Egypt Israel's first peace partner.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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