Peres, Arafat Hint at Imminent Breakthrough in Israel-PLO Pact : Mideast: Progress is reportedly made in Oslo. The Israeli foreign minister and PLO chief will meet again Saturday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat met here Saturday and held out the prospect that an agreement on terms to implement their historic Mideast peace plan may be just a week away.

Although they failed to meet rumored expectations of a breakthrough in Oslo, the two men announced that they will hold talks on the final obstacles next Saturday in Davos, Switzerland, during a meeting of the World Economic Forum, which they were both already scheduled to attend.

“Next week will be an important date to achieve what we are looking for,” Arafat said at a joint news conference after the meeting.

“There are some small differences which we hope to overcome. If there is a will, there is a way, and we are sure we both have the will to go strongly, as we have from the beginning, to achieve real peace.”

Both sides refused to go into specifics about what progress had been made in Oslo, but Peres later confirmed that he had brought new proposals on border agreements.

“May we ask your patience for another week’s time, and then we shall give you the (working) paper,” Peres said. “None of us can say with safety that we shall reach a total agreement, but I can say we have the proper climate to do so.”

The talks followed more than 24 hours of intensive behind-the-scenes mediation in Oslo, where secret diplomacy led to the initial declaration of principles for peace in September. Over the next week, Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization delegates will continue negotiations in Oslo as well as at related talks in Washington and Taba, Egypt.

The evening session, hosted by the Norwegian government, followed separate meetings that Secretary of State Warren Christopher held with Peres and Arafat on Saturday morning.

The central figures in the Mideast drama were in Oslo for the funeral of Johan Jorgen Holst, the Norwegian foreign minister whose initiative and perseverance led to the secret Palestinian-Israeli talks. Holst died Jan. 13 of a stroke at age 56.

Reflecting growing U.S. concern about the bogged-down Mideast peace process, Christopher warned both delegations about the dangers of further delays.

“The United States feels that they ought to move forward with implementation as fast as they possibly can,” Christopher said at the outset of his talks with Arafat.

The Clinton Administration has been increasingly concerned about the escalating violence in Israel and the occupied territories, the growing influence of militant groups like the Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas, and the impact the delays have on providing international aid to Palestinians as a means of winning broader support for the Palestinian autonomy accord.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Christopher emphasized the “need to change life in the territories. The longer implementation is delayed, the greater the loss of hope.”

The negotiations have been bogged down by disputes over security arrangements at border crossings, the size and configuration of the Jericho district in the West Bank and the security of Jewish settlers in Palestinian areas. Implementation had been due to begin with an Israeli pullout Dec. 13 from the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

The dangers were evident Saturday in reports that Israeli soldiers shot and wounded seven Palestinians in clashes in Hebron in the West Bank. Troops reportedly opened fire on young men throwing stones and empty bottles, eyewitnesses told reporters.

Despite the five-week delay in an agreement that would allow Israeli troops to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, Peres said that it is still possible to meet the April 13 deadline for the Palestinian areas to gain autonomy.

Arafat’s presence and his willingness to go into details was also a factor in the progress, according to U.S. officials. In his talks with Christopher, Arafat pulled out maps and talked at length about specific problems and alternatives he or his representatives had been reluctant to deal with in the past.

It was initially hoped that Arafat would remain in Oslo overnight to work on a final agreement this weekend, but he left immediately after his meeting with Peres because of an unspecified commitment.

“We found both sides felt a need to come to agreement as soon as possible,” State Department spokesman Mike McCurry said after Christopher’s talks.

“There are clearly differences in the positions of the two sides. But both sides are focused on bridging those differences.”

All sides had hoped for significant progress, in part to pay tribute to Holst.

During his eulogy at the service, Christopher described Holst as “at once imaginative and practical. He understood that change must come, not just through symbols but through pragmatic actions that would make a genuine difference in the day-to-day lives of the people.”

After the Israeli-PLO meeting, acting Norwegian Foreign Minister Bjoern Tore Godal announced the creation of an emergency fund to meet the “urgent economic needs of the Palestinians and their institutions” during the transition to autonomy. Both Arafat and Peres requested that the fund be named for Holst.