MIDDLE EAST: ALBRIGHT/NETANYAHU/ARAFAT PEACE TALKS UPDATE
(7 Oct 1998) English/Nat A West Bank accord may be in the pipeline following meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has led a series of meetings over the last two days which appear to have paved the way for another summit in Washington. The two leaders have agreed that they are ready to hammer out - and perhaps sign a peace agreement. Steps closer to peace in the Middle East. Two days of talks between U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have ended. Tuesday's talks seemed to leave the situation at a stalemate. But a renewed vigour on Wednesday left all sides smiling and feeling a bit more hopeful. Earlier in the day, Yasser Arafat spoke about his talks with Secretary of State Albright. Now - he says - it is time for the Israelis to act. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Today, as yesterday as before in Washington, we were discussing the American initiative. As you know - we had already accepted, completely, the American initiative. Until now the Zionist side didn't give any signal for approving the American initiative." SUPERCAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Leader Later in the day - Arafat hosted a lunch for the negotiators and a toast was made to a lasting peace in the region. For the first time a leader from Israel, an American Secretary of State and the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority were in Gaza - breaking bread and talking peace. The luncheon toast wrapped up two days of talks in the region aimed at pushing the two leaders towards real progress in an upcoming summit. Albright wanted to ensure, however, that it was important to be realistic about the possibilities for achieving a lasting peace agreement. SOUNDBITE: (English) "You know this is the first time that a Prime Minister of Israel has actually crossed over to have this meeting in Gaza so that kind of characterised the sense that these two leaders were putting their shoulder to the wheel to deal with the issues. But, I don't want to overemphasise something. I think there is a new spirit. But I am very realistic there are an awful lot of problems that still have to be resolved and those are the kind that the leaders themselves have to resolve when we are in Washington." SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State It's roll up the sleeves and get to work time. At least that's the message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I liken this to climbing the foothills - and now we see the mountain before us and in Washington we'll have to climb the mountain. As far as finalling the settlement I don't rule out the possibility that if the Washington summit succeeds we'll embark right at the close of this agreement on the beginning of final settlement talks. That is, the talks that will lead to a permanent peace agreement between Israel and Palestine." SUPER CAPTION: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu has basically agreed to relinquish 13 percent of the West Bank. This is on top of the 27 percent promised to the Palestinians earlier, with 3 percent set aside for a nature reserve under joint Israeli-Palestinian security control. But big issues like security are still up in the air. So, negotiators want to make it clear that while a big step has been taken - it will take a lot more work before a peace agreement is signed. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
