Negotiators Lose Hope of Meeting Target Date for Palestinian Self-Rule

Negotiators here have lost hope of concluding an agreement on Palestinian self-rule before a self-imposed Wednesday target date. But they edged on Monday toward an accord on civil administration and releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said most of the roadblocks that emerged in last week’s difficult talks have been overcome.

But he said the two sides will probably have to accept that there will be no withdrawal this week of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, as was foreseen in the historic Declaration of Principles signed last September in Washington.

“It is impossible now to sign the day after tomorrow. There are still many things that require finishing,” Shaath said.

Still, negotiators said Monday night that they were nearing an accord on release of Palestinian prisoners and had reached final agreement on handing over 37 of 38 civil administration departments to Palestinian self-rule.

On the issue of water, however, Palestinians still insist on controlling the amounts drawn from Jewish settlers’ wells. “We have to control all water sources in Gaza and Jericho, even if it’s inside the settlements,” said Jamil Tarifi, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator on civil affairs. He said a final accord on water transfer could be reached as early as today.

With little or no hope of signing an agreement to begin Israeli troop withdrawal by Wednesday’s target date, the Palestine Liberation Organization has pressed Israel to set a new target date for pulling out.

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat was tentatively scheduled to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Friday in Bucharest, Romania, to try to work out remaining problems.

“The schedule for withdrawal has been fully agreed to. The only difficulty with it, and it is a very difficult issue, is setting what is called the zero day--the day of signature--and that day of signature has not yet been agreed,” Shaath said.

Sources close to the talks said the two sides will try to agree on a symbolic gesture for Wednesday. This could include some symbolic Israeli pullout from a point in Gaza or Jericho; the arrival of a small group of Palestinian police officers on an organizational trip, or announcement of points upon which the two sides have agreed.

Peres, speaking to reporters in Turkey, said he believes a comprehensive accord can still be signed by the end of the month.

But Peres cautioned that Israel is making no commitment for a new target date, saying negotiators “always . . . can encounter some uninvited difficulties, but our intention is to conclude it before the end of the month.”

Shaath said an Israeli commitment to begin withdrawing at month’s end would be acceptable. He estimated the remaining issues will take seven to 10 days to conclude.

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Early deployment of a small force of Palestinian police has been held up because Palestinian military leaders do not want to send a contingent into Gaza and Jericho without knowing when the Israelis will begin their withdrawal. They fear the suggestion that the new Palestinian officers, rather than being symbols of change, will be viewed as cooperating with the Israeli occupation force.

The two sides have also disputed how large the early deployment force will be after the initial team of eight officers arrives.

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Aly Assem of The Times’ Cairo Bureau contributed to this report.