Israelis, Palestinians Extend Talks in Bid to End Deadlock

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators extended their peace talks Tuesday, closeting themselves in a Cairo villa in a painstaking attempt to break the deadlock that has delayed the start-up of Palestinian self-rule.

“It’s still step by step. Not two steps by two steps,” said Israeli Environment Minister Yossi Sarid following a full night and day of negotiations.

Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat looked tired and drawn as he rushed wordlessly from one of several meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, as the two sides attempted to agree on enough issues to sign at least an initial accord before they leave here today.

Yet even as the two sides expressed cautious optimism, Israel made it clear that “prolonged negotiations” will be necessary before the accord on Palestinian autonomy in Jericho and the Gaza Strip can be implemented.

“I hope we will reach an understanding about the issues that are being discussed in Cairo. But we have to bear in mind, even if we reach an understanding in Cairo, it will be only the nucleus of key issues for reaching an agreement to implement the Gaza-Jericho (agreement),” said Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, effectively torpedoing hopes for any quick and comprehensive accord.

Peres and Arafat held a brief meeting Monday night, then met over lunch Tuesday and again in the evening in an attempt to break through roadblocks encountered by their negotiating delegations.

The two negotiating teams, split over issues of who will control international border crossings and how to guarantee security for Jewish settlers in the new Palestinian autonomous zones, worked through the latest of several draft agreements, essentially based on understandings reached at the last round of talks between Arafat and Peres at a Swiss resort.

Sources close to the talks say the danger is that both sides have approached their bottom lines. Arafat is unwilling to go beyond concessions he made at the Switzerland talks, while Israel sees issues of security as too fundamental to debate.

Still, it appeared the two sides were discussing compromises on such issues as joint patrols of roads leading from Jewish settlements in Gaza, “safe passage” of Palestinians to points of Palestinian control outside the main Jericho area and the configuration of Israeli army buildings remaining inside Gaza.

The two sides were hoping to reach at least a preliminary accord on which they could initial several points of agreement before concluding the talks today. Sources close to the talks said it would take at least two weeks beyond that to draft precise language before any summit to sign an accord could be held between Arafat and Rabin.