CNN logo
Navigation
 
COMMUNITY 
Message Boards 
Chat 
Feedback 

SITE SOURCES 
Contents 
Help! 
Search 
CNN Networks 

SPECIALS 
Quick News 
Almanac 
Video Vault 
News Quiz 




Pathfinder/Warner Bros


Barnes and Noble



Election Watch grfk

Q & A

Insight
World banner
rule

S P E C I A L Struggle for Peace

Netanyahu still hedging on Washington summit

graphic May 7, 1998
Web posted at: 3:59 p.m. EDT (1959 GMT)

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday refused to give a firm answer on whether he plans to be in Washington on Monday for a summit with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

When asked about the matter at CNN's World Report conference, Netanyahu said the Israelis were ready for peace but that in order to achieve peace, Palestinians must comply with two Israeli "principles:" compliance and security.

Compliance, he said, means cracking down on militants who oppose the peace process and changing a clause in the Palestinian Liberation Organization charter that calls for the destruction of Israel.

Netanyahu
Netanyahu says first, "we need compliance"  
(icon 306K/27 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)  

Israel's concerns over compliance and security were addressed during the meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in London earlier this week, he said.

"We are eager for peace. We are eager to move this process forward ... on both sides of the aisle," Netanyahu said during the interview by satellite linkup. "If those basic principles are secured, we can move ahead and give a better tomorrow for everyone living in this troubled region."

"I don't know if we'll get to Washington on Monday because there are a lot of issues that are left open," Netanyahu said, when asked for a second time if he intended to attend the proposed summit with Arafat.

Arafat
Arafat says Palestinians have "the right to declare our independent state" in May, 1999  
(icon 255K/22 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)  

In an earlier interview on CNN, Arafat said he hoped Netanyahu would attend the talks in Washington. Netanyahu should also remember that the majority of Israel favors peace with the Palestinians, Arafat said.

"He has to remember that the majority of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) are with the peace process, as I have mentioned the majority of the Israelis are with the peace process, and I hope that he will follow up this majority of his Israeli people," Arafat said.

"I hope that (Netanyahu) will go to Washington with a positive response to the American initiative, and not to try again to open dialogue, to waste time," Arafat said.

The United States is trying to get the Israelis to accept a proposed 13 percent pullback in the West Bank. The Palestinians, who wanted Israel to cede 30 percent more land, have grudgingly accepted the proposal.

Palestinian state?

Netanyahu also reiterated his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, but said he is not opposed to having the Palestinians govern themselves.

"I believe that ... peace should enable the Palestinians to govern their lives, but for us to have our lives protected," the Israeli leader said.

"When you use the word state, what comes to most people's minds is that a state is uninhibited. It can field a large army, it can bring in missiles and tanks and artillery. You can't really stop that. You can't demilitarize an entire state."

Struggle For Peace
B A C K G R O U N D   I    K E Y   P L A Y E R S   I   M A P S

 
rule

Special sections:

Message board:

Newsmaker profiles:

Related stories:

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

Infoseek search  

Message Boards Sound off on our
message boards & chat
Back to the top

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.