Clinton, Arafat Discuss Mideast

President Clinton welcomed Yasser Arafat on Wednesday for their first one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office to discuss the last and toughest leg of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians as well as regional economic and security problems.

The 45-minute session reflected U.S. recognition of Arafat as a world political leader and statesman, completing the ascendancy of a man once labeled the Middle East’s most wanted terrorist.

The talks were also a reward for Arafat’s election as the first president of the new Palestinian Authority on Jan. 20 and for his victory last month when the Palestine National Council revoked clauses in its charter calling for Israel’s destruction.

“I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet Chairman Arafat,” Clinton said in greeting the Palestinian.

Arafat later called the session a “warm . . . thoughtful and productive meeting.”

The president thanked Arafat for the arrest of more than 1,500 suspected extremists since a wave of car and bus bombings killed more than 60 people in Israel, and he called for “sustained vigilance” to prevent another wave of violence from upsetting peace efforts.

Arafat’s call at the White House was symbolic of the broader progress in the peace process since the 1991 Madrid Conference launched the U.S.-orchestrated peace effort.

“The real significance of this meeting is that it in fact took place, that the extraordinary has become the routine in our work on the Middle East peace process,” White House spokesman David Johnson said.

But in a speech at the National Press Club after leaving the White House, Arafat talked of his deep frustration with what has not been accomplished.

He complained bitterly about Israel’s border closure, which has crippled the Palestinian economy, and the failure of Western donor countries to come through with aid they have pledged.

The closure amounted to a “very serious economic siege” that has left 120,000 Palestinians without income and blocked exports and imports, he said.

As a result, the recent wave of terrorist bombings by the Islamic militants of Hamas hurt Palestinians as well as Israelis.

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Arafat called on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres to end its practice of punishment for “collective guilt” and lift the restrictions.

“Can you live peacefully and easily while your neighbor is facing starvation?” he asked. “This will reflect negatively on the whole peace process. I am sorry to say that until now we are paying the price of the peace.”

Because of its economic problems, the new Palestinian Authority--which controls the Gaza Strip and all but one of the major population centers in the West Bank--is poorer today than it was during the Israeli occupation.

Arafat said net losses are about $6 million daily because of the border closures, which have affected everything from drinking water to schools to telecommunications.

Arafat said that the authority had expected to receive at least $450 million from foreign donors this year but has so far received $27 million.

“This is an appeal from me to all the donors not to leave us alone,” he said.

Almost $2 billion has been pledged over a five-year period to help the Palestinians achieve self-rule. The United States has promised $500 million, of which $156 million has been paid to date, according to the White House.

Still, Arafat was generally optimistic about the peace process.

He predicted that the final phase of the peace talks, to open this weekend, eventually will result in a Palestinian state.

“Yes, yes, yes, it is coming. No one can hide the sun with his fingers,” he said.

Referring to the issues still to be resolved with Israel, Arafat made clear that the Palestinians will push for formal statehood and for their capital to be Jerusalem.

Peres’ Labor Party voted last week to lift its opposition to a formal Palestinian state, although Peres has stood firm on Israel’s claim on Jerusalem.

Clinton on Wednesday refused to become embroiled in those issues, the most controversial of the final phase of talks.

He said the main U.S. goal is to speed the peace process and to help those such as Arafat who “take the risks for peace.”

“I do not believe the United States can serve any useful purpose by getting in the middle of decisions which have to be resolved by the parties themselves,” he said.

At a White House briefing later, Johnson said the United States realizes that the final phase “will not go like lightning. . . . This one may prove to be one of the ones that requires more work than normal.”

Arafat also predicted that shortly after Israel’s May 29 elections, talks will resume between Israel and Syria--the last of the four tracks of peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinians and Syria.

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A general peace will come “sooner or later,” Arafat said at the National Press Club. “This is the current of the history. No one can stop it.”

Arafat has been to Washington twice before for formal signing ceremonies, but this trip was different in many ways.

As Arafat’s image has changed, so has his maturity as a public figure. His appearance at the press club, where he elicited repeated applause and laughter as he easily fielded questions, was in stark contrast to the days when he gave late-night interviews at secret locations in Beirut or Tunis, Tunisia, which was his headquarters in exile.