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July 16, 2000
THURMONT, Maryland (UNB) - The Mideast peace negotiations at the secluded Camp David presidential retreat are focusing on bedrock differences. So it should come as no surprise that by all accounts - and not much is being said publicly - progress has been an uphill struggle. U.S. President Bill Clinton tried to help bridge the divide as he met separately Friday with Israeli Primer Minister Ehud Barak and then separately with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Later, all three delegations met for a traditional Sabbath dinner, hosted by the Israeli prime minister. "These are intractable issues," said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. "These are issues that go to the vital interests of both of the parties. So this is very serious." What is clear is that tensions are rising at the retreat in the Catoctin Mountains 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Washington. One report had Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at one point earlier in the week threatening to pack his bags and depart. After four days of talks, the core differences are said to remain: the status of Jerusalem, the drawing of borders of a Palestinian state and the fate of several million Palestinian refugees. "There are tensions every day when you're working through these issues," Lockhart told reporters.
A diplomatic source told The Associated Press that at this stage, there was no indication either side had changed its positions on those issues that matter most. U.S. officials have refused to discuss the substance of the talks, but have freely admitted from the start that the deep divisions between the two sides were making the negotiations a struggle. In spite of that, the atmosphere is strangely informal, with some negotiating sessions conducted as leaders stroll the wooded paths of Camp David, where a dozen years ago equally tension-filled peace talks were held between Israel and Egypt. Those talks led to the Cape David Accords, and a year later an Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement, the first between Israel and any of its Arab neighbors. Official photographs released by the White House and State Department consistently show participants in casual clothes - Clinton wearing a sweat shirt and Barak a baseball-style cap - although Arafat has stayed with his trademark military-style fatigues and checkered keffiyeh. On Friday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who had served as lead negotiator during Clinton's eight-hour absence on Thursday, tackled another sensitive mission. She traveled to nearby Emmitsburg, Maryland, to meet with seven Palestinian officials who were disgruntled that they had not been allowed to confer personally with Arafat. U.S. officials have sought to limit outside contact between the sequestered summit participants to prevent details about the talks from leaking out prematurely. In her meeting with the Palestinians, Albright acknowledged that the going was tough at Camp David. She told the group that as the negotiators "work through these issues, this process is bound to get harder," according to Lockhart. At a briefing, Lockhart was asked to confirm one report that things had gotten so tense at one point earlier in the week that Arafat had threatened to pack his bags and walk out. "I didn't see any luggage today," he deadpanned. Media reports in Israel cited Palestinian sources as saying Arafat had been angered by an initiative put forward by the United States, which was meant to bridge gaps between the two sides but closely mirrored Israeli positions. Lockhart refused to comment on whether any American proposals had been offered, but said: "We certainly would not eliminate any diplomatic initiative or effort that might help push the process forward." Clinton is scheduled to travel to Japan on Wednesday, but U.S. officials have said that should not be considered a deadline for wrapping up the summit. The Palestinians' unofficial spokeswoman, Hanan Ashrawi, said she did not envision any breakthrough being reached by then. The summit, she said, "certainly isn't going to end very soon, because the issues have not been resolved."
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