US and Israeli plan details reported, embarrassment in Israel
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 3/20/1998

The Palestinian government is said to have accepted a set of US ideas that were meant to serve as a springboard to revive the peace process, Israeli sources said Friday.

Israeli Hebrew daily Maariv said that Palestinians officials have conveyed this message to US special peace envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross. It said the Palestinians accepted the proposal after the US adopted a key Palestinian demand which insisted on the implementation of the third phase redeployment of Israeli troops in the West Bank, the paper said. It claimed that the US administration suggested that the Palestinian government skip the third stage of Israeli withdrawal and include it in the final status talks, but the Palestinian officials requested some time to weigh the proposal.

The paper quoted a senior source in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that it is natural for the Palestinians to accept the US proposals because "they suit them better." It said that another political source admitted that the Palestinian acceptance of the American initiative has left Israel in a tough position against a Palestinian-European-American front that will cast Israel as guilty for the lack of progress in the peace process. Netanyahu himself said yesterday that, ³Not all the talk about an American initiative is necessarily connected to what will actually happen,² and added, ³only Israel will determine its needs.²

Another Hebrew daily, Yediot Ahronot, gave details of what it said was a US document entitled "Outline for the implementation of agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.² The document, said the paper, details the US Administration initiative which is designed to bridge the gap between the Palestinians and the Israelis with respect to the implementation of the interim agreement. The document refers to three stages to be undertaken over 12 weeks.

1- From the first Through fifth Weeks
- Israel will relay lands consisting of 1.9% of Area C (areas under complete Israeli control), and these will become part of Area B (land under Israeli security control, but Palestinian civilian authority). Israel will also transfer 0.1% of Area C land to Area A (areas under full Palestinian authority). During this period, Israel will convert 7% of Area B lands to Area A.
- During this period, the Palestinian government will release an official announcement which bans any form of incitement in Palestinian government controlled areas.
- The Palestinian government and Israel will convene a joint committee to investigate incidents of incitement.
- The PLO Executive Committee will ratify changes in the Palestinian covenant, eliminating clauses which call for the destruction of Israel.
- A joint US-PNA committee will examine why cases against Palestinian government "terror suspects" were dropped.

2- Weeks Six to Eleven
- Israel will hand over to the Palestinian government more land which involves the conversion of 5% of Area C land to Area B land.
- The Palestinian government will relay to Israel a full list of Palestinian police officials (remark: Israel claims that the Palestinian government employs thousands more Rpoliceman¹ than the number allowed under the Oslo accords).
- A three-member, US, Palestine and Israel, security team will meet to discuss allegations that Israel has made about the smuggling of arms to Palestinian government territory.
- A steering committee, headed by Saeb Erekat and Dany Naveh, will meet to discuss subjects that involve the extradition of suspects accused of involvement in "terror."

3- Week Twelve
- Israel completes the last stage of the withdrawal - the reference being to the transfer of 5% of Area C land to Area B. The conversion of 1% of Area C land to Area A land; and the transfer of 5% of Area B land to Area A land.
- During this week, talks between the sides about the final arrangement will resume.

A few days ago, Netanyahu has reportedly sent a message to US President Bill Clinton in which he expressed his opposition and protest at the scope of Israeli troop withdrawal as defined by the US set of ideas. Netanyahu, said the paper, explained in this letter that a withdrawal from 13.1% of the West Bank would harm Israel¹s security, and should be rejected outright.

Meanwhile, the opposition Labor Party is seemingly preparing itself for a possible role in reviving the peace talks with the Palestinians. According to Maariv, party chairman Ehud Barak was due to present his political-defense team on Sunday with a plan laying out his proposals for the resumption of peace talks. According to the paper, Barak said that a deadlock could lead to a breakup and war under conditions of international isolation and rifts within the Israelis. The paper detailed Barak's plan as follows:

- Israel will not cave in to any kind of pressure. Not from Arafat, Not from Assad and not from the US.
- The US is a true friend and not a rival, we¹re better off coordinating our moves ahead of time even if there is some tough bargaining.
- Israel has a supreme interest in the peace process momentum and in attaining peace and security. A deadlock could lead to a unnecessary war.

In the principles for renewing the peace momentum, Barak notes that there should be prior coordination with the US on the following issues:

- The implementation of the Palestinian government's commitment in the war against "terror" and preventing incitement.
- An Israeli announcement on the implementation, in phases, of the government¹s commitments with regard to the phased withdrawal. The extent of the phases will be concluded ahead of time with the US.
- A negotiating timetable for the permanent status.

In the second stage, Barak's initiative calls for ³a Palestinian-Israeli agreement on the ways of implementing the phases and the other arrangements in conjunction with the US.²

In the third stage, Barak argues that talks on final status should be intensified and should lead to a separation between the two sides while maintaining the principles of a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, no foreign army west of the River Jordan, no return to the 1967 borders, and most of the Jewish settlements and settlers in the West Bank remain under Israeli rule.

Previous Stories:
  No three way meeting expected with Albright, Arafat and Netanyahu   (3/19/1998)
  A snow storm hits Israeli government after Cook's political storm   (3/18/1998)
  Strike in Jerusalem: talks lead nowhere   (3/3/1998)

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