Agreements and differences between Clinton and Netanyahu

The double summit meetings between US President Bill Clinton and Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu have failed to bridge the differences between the two sides, Israeli sources confirmed Wednesday and said that Netanyahu has avoided committing himself to any specific move noting that his government coalition today, after the resignation of his foreign minister David Levy, is more difficult.

"We have in fact had some good serious meetings today, on what is a working visit, in a friendly atmosphere," US Secretary of State Albright said. But sources said that the meetings were conducted in a somewhat tense atmosphere though neither side was ready to talk about how difficult those meetings were.

President Clinton had a number of reasons to feel annoyed as Netanyahu chose to meet with staunch political opponents to Clinton right before he headed to the White House. In the meeting with leaders of the extreme right wing "Coalition for National Unity" Netanyahu received a very warm welcome and even banners in Hebrew identical to those raised by his fellow supporters back in Israel during Likud conventions, were raised in the Grand Ball hall of Mayflower Hotel, where the meeting was held. Secretary of state Albright said that there was nothing unusual about those meetings as the US meets with the opposition when it visits other countries, and they are not a source of friction.

Netanyahu's position was unchanged, although he expressed publicly that "I'm prepared to make redeployment and actions that are not easy, but I'm not prepared to put Israel at risk", hinting as he did earlier that he can muster his coalition's support for such decisions.

Based on reports compiled from Washington and Tel Aviv, follows are the main points of differences between the two sides:

Redeployment

: Clinton demanded a "double digit withdrawal" but Netanyahu spoke of no exact figures, though his aides said he expressed readiness to redeploy the Israeli army in no more than 9.5 percent of the West Bank. Netanyahu did not live up to the understandings that were achieved with Dennis Ross in December and January, and that left President Clinton frustrated. He reminded Netanyahu of his promises prior to David Levy's resignation of a withdrawal larger than 10 percent and Netanyahu explained that after Levy's resignation, his maneuverability has decreased. He also tried to persuade Clinton that a third stage of redeployment should be implemented within the framework of the final status talks, while Clinton stuck to his view that it would be best to carry out a number of consecutive withdrawals as the Palestinians fulfilled each of their obligations. Netanyahu asked Clinton whether the US would demand that a third phase of further redeployment be implemented. The president responded that the US administration endorsed the Hebron accords which stipulated that a third phase of further redeployment be implemented. It was at that point that Netanyahu proposed doing so within the framework of the final borders negotiations.

US sources said they had convinced the Palestinians to settle for a 15 percent redeployment in the West Bank within the second phase and said they were asking Israel to agree to this size too. President Clinton and his team have reportedly agreed to a gradual withdrawal, subject to Palestinian fulfillment of their commitments. However, Clinton asked that Israel begin the withdrawal immediately in a bid of good faith, as the Palestinians begin to carry out their side of the agreements. But Netanyahu furnished a lengthy response in which he provided a detailed account of the government's decisions with regard to vital national interests. “The government and the Israeli public are united on the issue," Netanyahu said, “and we have no way at this stage of going to a double digit withdrawal without compromising our vital interests."

Jewish settlements

: Clinton asked for specific clarifications from Netanyahu on what the term time out on Jewish settlement activities means to him and stressed that settlement activities should be halted at once in order for faith to be restored between the two sides. Netanyahu argued that the normal growth rate of Jewish settlements does not only include those newborn settlers but also include what he called the natural right of the Jewish settlements to absorb new comers. The differences on the settlement issue remained as deep as they were before the two met. After the meeting, Netanyahu assured two leaders of the Jewish settlement movement that "as long as I am in power, settlers in the West Bank and Gaza have no cause to worry." A source in the prime minister's delegation defined the lengthy meetings between US officials and Netanyahu as a “war of attrition" and said the Americans were trying to squeeze concessions from the prime minister but had not yet succeeded in doing so.

Palestinian National Charter

: Netanyahu reiterated his demands that the Palestinians cancel the Palestinian National Charter but President Clinton was convinced that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has no chance of convening the Palestinian National Council to cancel the covenant for the time being. Clinton stuck to his view that the cancellation of the charter should take place at a later stage, after faith-building measure are taken by both parties. Netanyahu first insisted on this demand but later showed readiness to skip it once it became clear to him that President Clinton was not ready to accept his arguments on the Palestinian charter. Netanyahu said Israel was demanding the establishment of a legal committee to investigate which clauses in the Palestinian covenant had to be amended. Israel would not accept solutions such as a letter from Arafat to the prime minister or President Clinton, but rather was demanding that the PNC convene and annul the charter. Netanyahu promised that he would permit all members of the PNC to enter the territories for that purpose, including George Habash and Ahmed Jibril.

Extradition of prisoners

: Netanyahu insisted that the PNA extradite to Israel Palestinians suspected of involvement in anti-Israel attacks, such as members of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, and the Islamic Jihad. Clinton said the demand was not practical and suggested that instead, that measures be taken to guarantee that those allegedly involved in attacks on Israelis be held in Palestinian jails and are not released without prior coordination with Israel.

Following the first meeting, White House officials noted it was the first time that the president had ever given such a detailed account of his personal opinion, thus not leaving any room for misunderstandings or for misinterpretation. Israeli sources noted that the US pressure did not manifest itself in explicit threats against Israel, but rather in underscoring the position that any alternative Israeli decision would run contrary to Clinton's position.

The American pressure was expressed in the intensive nature of the meetings. In addition to the meeting that was scheduled with the President, and the two meetings with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Netanyahu was summoned to a second meeting with Clinton in the White House residential block. The president's staff explained to Netanyahu that the president had not placed any time limit on their meeting: “He wants to conduct a serious discussion into the night."

Netanyahu's second meeting with Albright also lasted close to two hours. Other forms of pressure were the decision Clinton took neither to host Netanyahu for the usual lunch at the White House nor to hold a joint press conference with him after the meeting was over. Besides, White House officials noted, President Clinton wanted to accord Netanyahu as cool as possible a reception in order to make himself well understood that he has become fed up with the unnecessary waste of time. The Bulgarian President's visit to Washington was mentioned as an example of how cool the US reception to Netanyahu was. Clinton had even invited his Bulgarian guest to join him for the morning jogging but he offered nothing to Netanyahu other than the two rough sessions he held with him.

President Arafat is due to meet with President Clinton on Thursday for similar talks.