No three way meeting expected with Albright, Arafat and Netanyahu
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 3/19/1998

Palestinian and Israeli officials on Thursday ruled out a possible three-way meeting next week in Europe between US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both sides agreed, separately though, that time is not ripe for such a meeting to take place and said that the US might still need to conduct another round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East before a fully-American peace initiative is introduced.

There is a fair chance that Albright will meet with both President Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu separately, said a senior Palestinian source in Gaza, but added that "so far things seem to be stuck and therefore there is no point in any direct face-to-face meeting between President Arafat and Netanyahu."

"We need a clear indication from Israel that it is ready to implement the clauses of the interim agreements. Only then will it become possible for President Arafat to meet PM Netanyahu," the source added. Sources in Netanyahu's office said meetings between Albright, Netanyahu and Arafat are only possible if the White House decides to launch its own peace initiative.

Secretary Albright had told a press conference in Washington after her meeting with Jordan's King Hussein on Wednesday that the US Administration is looking into ways of furthering the peace process in the Middle East. Netanyahu's political advisor, Uzi Arad, who met in Washington on Wednesday night with State Department Undersecretary Martin Indyk, had requested that the US refrain from applying pressure on Israel and that the Americans not come with their own peace initiative. US sources said Indyk pledged that the US Administration will do what it has to do "but there won't be any surprises."

But Israeli police minister Avigdor Kahalani said Thursday that Israel is afraid of a new American peace initiative which will attempt to force it to enlarge the percentages of land handed over to the Palestinians in the various phases of redeployment in the West Bank. Kahalani said that if the US tries to force a peace agreement on both sides "it would be harmful for both Israelis and Palestinians."

Similar views were voiced by Israeli President Ezer Weizman, who urged Israel to solve its own problems with the Palestinians without external interference. He spoke following a meeting with visiting Austrian Chancellor Victor Klima, whose visit was highly appreciated since he is the upcoming president of the EU in a few months. Klima, who is accompanied by a number of Austrian businessmen, met with Netanyahu on Thursday and should meet with Arafat on Friday.

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, meanwhile, continued their sessions and a meeting was held at US ambassador Ned Walker's house in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, but no results were achieved. Palestinian sources said the meeting discussed some of the measures that Israel was supposed to have already implemented according to the Interim Agreements "but no breakthrough has been reached."

Previous Stories:
  A snow storm hits Israeli government after Cook's political storm   (3/18/1998)
  Israelis learn Arabic in Gaza   (3/4/1998)
  Strike in Jerusalem: talks lead nowhere   (3/3/1998)

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