USA: ALBRIGHT SPEAKS ABOUT CLINTON VISIT TO MIDDLE EAST

(11 Dec 1998) English/Nat U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has said President Bill Clinton is going to the Middle East to urge Israeli and Palestinian leaders to carry out their pledges in the U-S negotiated land-for-peace accords. On the eve of Clinton's departure, Albright urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to clamp down on violence and to cease making declarations that he intends unilaterally to establish a state on the West Bank and Gaza. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says President Clinton's trip to Jerusalem was an important part of the Wye agreement, and would be a concrete show of America's confidence in the Middle East peace process. She said it was important the Israeli and Palestinian leaders move forward with the conditions of the Wye accords, such as the Israeli pullbacks from the West Bank and Palestinian security measures. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Well, first of all, it's very much a part of the Wye agreement for the president to go and make this trip. We agreed to it, it is part of the implementation process, and I think it will have an effect of showing that the United States continues to back the Wye agreement and that the leaders themselves, who made very hard decisions, will be carrying them out." SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, U-S Secretary of State Clinton was due to board Air Force One for his flight to Israel before dawn on Saturday. On Sunday in Jerusalem, he will meet with Netanyahu, address the Israeli people and light a candle for the first night of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that commemorates freedom. He goes to Gaza on Monday to see Arafat and to address the Palestine National Council and other Palestinian groups. APTN 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...