Talks resume, no promise seen
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 8/3/1998

The marathon of endless talks between the Palestinian government and Israel is due to resume Monday with very little achieved over the past few weeks.

Palestinian president Yasser Arafat told reporters in Gaza upon his return from Morocco that no progress whatsoever was achieved in the committee talks with Israel and that peace process is stalled at a situation of impasse. Palestinian officials denied earlier reports in Israel, which indicated that some progress had been reached in the talks. As far as the Palestinian negotiators are concerned, Israel has yet to come forward with positive and clear ideas on how it would implement the US-proposed 13 percent scope of withdrawal in the West Bank.

Israeli sources, however, said that some progress on the question of the so-called nature reserves areas was reached. They said the area D, which Israel suggested to hand over to the Palestinian government in the Bethlehem desert area to the east include vast areas currently used by the Israeli army for training purposes. The army had objected any hand-over of this area to the Palestinian government but the prime minister reportedly insisted that the transfer of this area to Palestinian control would leave less impact on Israel's national interests in the permanent status talks between the two sides.

Israel suggested that the 3 percent area in question would maintain a special status where the Palestinian government will have no authority to issue construction permits. But Palestinian negotiators insisted that the so-called D area receive the exact status of B area under Oslo Accords, that is for the Palestinians to have control over civilian issues and that the area would automatically become totally under Palestinian control, as is A area.

In the last round of talks on Thursday, Israel informed the Palestinian negotiators where the location of D area is but did not present detailed maps. Those maps, Israeli sources said, will be presented only after an agreement is reached with the Palestinian government on the location of those areas and on crossing procedures and security needs that Israel would insist on.

Senior Palestinian sources said progress has been made on the national covenant issue, after Israel took back its demand to have the Palestine National Council convene to change the covenant. But, the sources said, no breakthrough could be reached on the question of the nature reserve areas, which Israel suggested. "The Israeli definition of those lands was not satisfactory to us and we insisted that they obtain the status of Area B, which will eventually become Area A that is under full PNA control," said a senior Palestinian source familiar with to the negotiations.

The US, meanwhile, does not seem to have changed its earlier position on the stalled talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. A US envoy is not expected to arrive in the region unless both sides agree on the two questions of the Palestinian national charter and nature reserve areas, sources in the Israeli defense ministry said Sunday. The sources said that the US envoy in this case would be present to mediate on the issue of a memorandum of security understandings. This memorandum was signed between the two sides and a US representative a few months ago but it was prime minister Netanyahu who vetoed it, despite the fact that senior army officers had agreed to its content. Netanyahu wanted a new understanding to be reached with the Palestinians. The Palestinian government and the US argued at the time that there was no need to draft any new agreement.

Previous Stories:
  Israel has new scheme for Palestinian territories   (7/29/1998)
  Israelis believe Palestinian state will see light, but support it less   (7/28/1998)
  No progress reached, Israelis cast inaccurate reports   (7/27/1998)

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