European Union peace plan for Palestine disclosed
Palestine-Israel, International, 3/13/1998

Palestinian sources said they are waiting to see what ideas the European community will present next week during the visit to the region by British foreign secretary Robin Cook and Austrian Chancellor Victor Klima.

The sources said that Cook will bring with him a set of ideas but will not present them in a form of a peace initiative before he takes them first to Washington and discuss them with US Administration officials. Britain and Austria are the heads of the EU this year and it is in this capacity that their senior officials are touring the Middle East next week.

According to various sources, Cook will gauge both Palestinian and Israeli readiness to accept his ideas which include five major points: (1) Israeli army withdrawal from at least 15 to 20 percent from areas currently under total Israeli control and a similar withdrawal with the same percentage from areas that are under Israeli security control but under Palestinian civil authority; (2) the implementation of a third phase redeployment in the West Bank according to the original interim agreement; (3) cessation of Jewish settlement activities and all other unilateral steps by Israel especially in Jerusalem; (4) the implementation of all the outstanding clauses of the interim agreement; and (5) the implementation of the security protocol that was reached between the Palestinian government and Israel with US mediation but has yet to be approved by Netanyahu who rejected it right after it was signed.

At the end of his tour in the region, Cook will take with him EU special ambassador to the Middle East Miguel Moratinos to Washington in order to present those ideas to US officials.

The US, meanwhile, seems to have put off a plan to come forward with an initiative of its own. Palestinians sources said that in her message to President Arafat Thursday, US Secretary of State made clear that the US at the moment will not present any new thoughts to get the peace process off the ground. The sources said that the US plan will apparently be unveiled only after Jewish Passover that falls by the end of next month. A final decision, however, is expected to be taken after Cook's talks in Washington. US sources said that so far, the Clinton Administration is committed to the same points it raised with both President Arafat and Netanyahu. According to those points, the second phase withdrawal of Israeli troops will be broken up into three stages, at the end of which some 13 percent of Israeli-controlled territory will be given to the Palestinians. The plan calls for negotiations on the permanent status to begin in May. ³The US has no plans to impose those ideas. It is for the two sides to make the tough decision,² US undersecretary of state Martin Indyk said on Thursday.

Sources in Washington, meanwhile, believe there is an internal debate among officials in the State Department over the forthcoming US role in the Middle East. According to those sources, Secretary Albright believes the US should launch a new initiative and present it to both sides in the form of "take it or leave it." She is backed by Indyk and Dr. Aaron Miller, deputy to Dennis Ross, the special envoy to the Middle East. Those who believe the US should not try to impose its own initiative on the two sides are headed by Ross himself and the State Department legal advisor Jonathan Shwartz. Indyk, who appeared before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee said the US has no plans to impose its initiative on the two sides but added that the Administration was keen to act since ³time alone will not break through the deadlock, and that the Middle East window of opportunity was ³closing because of the continued freeze in the peace process.²

Previous Stories:
  Tense Friday as a result of Bloody Tuesday   (3/13/1998)
  Palestine worried over continued unrest, European initiative in making   (3/12/1998)
  Israel continues land confiscation and house demolitions   (2/11/1998)

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