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Greeting New Year with guns
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ISRAELIS and Palestinians ushered in the New Year with deadly gun battles and a threat of revenge attacks Monday. Israeli troops killed two Palestinian policemen during a long gunfight, raising the death toll to 296 Palestinians killed in 13 weeks of bloodletting.
In another development, Kahane and his wife Talia were killed and five of their children were wounded when Palestinian gunmen attacked their van as the family drove from Jerusalem to their home in a Jewish settlement.
The killings raised fears of revenge attacks on both sides. Aharon Domb, a former secretary-general of the umbrella Jewish settlers' council, warned of attempts by Jewish extremists to attack Arabs in retaliation.
Arafat talks with Clinton
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called on President Clinton Tuesday for ``clarifications'' of a detailed US outline for a negotiated settlement with Israel. With only 18 days left in his term, Clinton agreed to see Arafat even as Palestinian negotiators circulated wall-to-wall criticism of the US framework for an accord.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Israel had raised questions, too, and the US objective was to see if there was a ``common understanding'' on what to do next.
Cast as a quest for clarification, the Oval Office meeting gave Arafat another chance to seek more control in East Jerusalem than the US plan suggested, a right for millions of Palestinian refugees to live in Israel and a more favorable configuration for a state.
But there was no indication that Barak would journey to Washington as well. Last week, Israel accepted Clinton's proposals as a basis for a negotiated settlement if Arafat accepted them as well.
Conditionally accepting Clinton's formula
Yasser Arafat gave US President Bill Clinton his qualified acceptance of a US formula for a negotiated settlement with Israel and the next move is up to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, a senior Palestinian official said Wednesday.
In two meetings at the White House, Arafat "presented our position in a positive way," Hassan Abdel Rahman, the Palestine Liberation Organization's representative in Washington. "These were received by President Clinton, and it is now up to Mr. Barak," Rahman added.
Meanwhile, a top Palestinian official said in Cairo Wednesday that the Palestinians will announce their "position" on US President Bill Clinton's proposals for peace with Israel, after they meet Arab foreign ministers here Thursday.
Israel: peace talks likely to resume
The White House announced Wednesday that Arafat, after two weeks of hesitation, conditionally accepted Clinton's peace proposal as a basis for further negotiations. Palestinian officials said Clinton proposed 12 days of intensive peace talks, to begin in the coming days.
Israel decided Wednesday to send its chief peace negotiator to Washington for new Mideast contacts, and an Israeli official said a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians was likely in the coming days.
Israel's Security Cabinet met late Wednesday to discuss Bill Clinton's proposal that Israel and the Palestinians resume negotiations on the basis of his ideas for an agreement. Clinton's offer came after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accepted the US plan in principle, albeit with many reservations.
The Cabinet statement said the Israeli negotiator, Gilead Sher, would meet with US officials in Washington, and made no mention of talks with Palestinian officials.
However, Amit Zimmer, a spokesman for Israeli Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who participated in the Cabinet meeting late Wednesday, said the expectation was that peace talks with the Palestinians would resume in the coming days, assuming the level of Palestinian violence was reduced.
Cabinet ministers expected that Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami would go to Washington in a few days to open the talks with the Palestinians.
The Cabinet statement said that Israel accepted Clinton's proposal to set up a three-way mechanism --Israel, the Palestinians, the United States -- to try to reduce violence in the region. Lipkin-Shahak, a former army chief, is to represent Israel in the group.
The US plan and each side's position
Territory
American proposal: Israel will cede 94-96 per cent of the West Bank, and all of Gaza, and transfer to the Palestinians territory adjoining the Gaza Strip to make up for the remaining four to six per cent. The plan also calls for the annexation to Israel of settlement blocks that will account for 80 per cent of the settlers.
Israeli position: Wants to ensure that there is a link between the settlement blocks. Also wants a corridor from Ma'ale Adumim to the Dead Sea.
Palestinian position: Want details of the land transfer -- exactly where and how much -- and details of plan to lease Hebron and Kiryat Arba for 20 years. They reject Ma'ale Adumim - Dead Sea corridor.
Security
American proposal: The Green Line will be the western border of a Palestinian state. Security there will be based on the presence of international forces that cannot be removed except by the consent of both sides.
The international force will supervise implementation of the agreements. Israel will have three years to withdraw, with the international force gradually taking over.
Israeli position: Wants clarification on the size and scope of activity of the international force. Wants the Palestinian State to be demilitarized, without any heavy weaponry.
Palestinian position: The Palestinians want details of where Israeli forces will be stationed, and the size and scope of the international force.
End of conflict
American proposal: The proposal says that an end of conflict will be declared, and with it all claims on Israel. The proposal also calls for Israel to release all Palestinians security prisoners.
Israeli position: Wants end of conflict immediately with signing of declaration of principles.
Palestinian position: Wants end of conflict clause only after final agreement is signed and sealed.
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