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Israeli, Palestinian leaders ready to meet Clinton

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November 5, 2000 

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders announced readiness to meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington for crucial negotiations aimed at breaking the vicious circle of violence that has shattered hopes for peace in the Middle East.

The Palestinian areas were far from quiet on Friday, meanwhile, despite calls for restraint issued by both sides in an attempt to implement their latest cease-fire and stop five weeks of bloodshed.

Two Palestinians were shot dead and dozens injured in a series of clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hospital doctors said. Four Israeli soldiers were also hurt, according to the army. Numerous firefights, some involving machine guns, were reported late Friday.

Still, Israeli leader Ehud Barak pledged to "persevere in our efforts for peace."

"We are strong enough to stand on both fronts: the battle for peace and the struggle against violence and terror," the prime minister said.

Palestinian leaders, who have designated the past several Fridays a "day of rage," also took on a more subdued tone, saying events Friday and Saturday would determine whether the truce agreement reached earlier in the week was taking hold.

On the political front, aides to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said he was ready to meet with Clinton in Washington. No definite date was set, said Arafat's spokesman Marwan Kanafani.

He said Arafat would arrive after the American presidential elections "to discuss the situation in the Palestinian areas and the future of the peace process" with Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Shlomo Ben-Ami, Israel's Foreign Minister, told Israel Television from the United States that Arafat was expected in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Clinton has also invited Barak, and Ben-Ami said the Israeli leader may travel to Washington after the planned Clinton-Arafat talks. He described the separate meetings as a "U.S. attempt to check how the peace process can move forward."

"I don't think they will talk at the moment about some defined peace package... The sides will check with the Americans what is the best way to advance the process after this harsh breakdown," Ben-Ami added.

The momentum generated by the daily clashes proved hard to stop. After midday prayers at mosques, confrontations began breaking out, and one Palestinian was shot dead in Tulkarem and another in Hizme, both in the West Bank.

Rock-throwing clashes were reported across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, deteriorating into firefights by night. Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers traded machine-gun fire near Bethlehem and a shooting confrontation was also reported near Hebron in the West Bank.

The Israelis and Palestinians also traded accusations on Friday about the lack of formal cease-fire statements from their leaders. Palestinian officials accused Israel of failing to restrain its troops and moving tanks back to friction points in Palestinian areas.

"The Israelis try to run away from the agreement. So far, we have heard no Barak statement. Instead, the tanks return and there are shootings," Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian negotiator, told The Associated Press.

Several cease-fires have collapsed without ever going into effect, including a deal brokered in Egypt last month by Clinton.

The latest agreement was reached early Thursday after overnight talks between Arafat and former Israeli premier Shimon Peres.

Just as it was expected to be simultaneously announced Thursday by Arafat and Barak, a car bomb exploded in Jerusalem, killing two Israelis. Firefights later erupted in the Palestinian territories, all threatening to destroy the agreement.

But Israel took no customary retaliatory steps in spite of the bombing and the death of three of its soldiers in fighting Wednesday.

"It's true that the gunfire continues and it's true that there are still clashes," Danny Yatom, Barak's top adviser, said on Israel radio. "At the same time, I believe, from what I know, that the Palestinians are trying to calm the situation."

Almost 170 people have been killed in the five weeks of fighting, the worst violence since the sides began peace negotiations in 1993. The vast majority of those killed were Palestinians.