U.S. Prods Palestinians to Deal on Hebron

Dennis Ross, the U.S. Middle East peace envoy, prepared Friday to head back to Israel amid signs of stepped-up U.S. pressure on Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to wrap up a deal on the West Bank city of Hebron.

Arafat, though, seemed in no mood to accept the American urgings or Ross’ mediation effort.

The Palestinian leader told reporters in Gaza on Friday that he hoped Ross would be an unbiased mediator but added that he saw no hope for an agreement any time soon.

Since October, Israel and the Palestinians have been involved in tortuous negotiations on the terms and timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Hebron, the last major city in the West Bank still under Israeli occupation.

Each side has blamed the other for the latest delays in reaching an agreement. But a senior U.S. official involved in the talks placed responsibility for the holdup now squarely on the Palestinian leader.

“The hesitancy is coming from Arafat,” the U.S. official said Friday, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now seems eager to conclude a deal. Arafat, though, is “unwilling to bring it to closure and if it doesn’t happen soon, he’s going to be the loser.”

The Palestinians, he said, appeared to be trying to squeeze further concessions out of Israel before signing the agreement, which has been all but complete for weeks.

According to the official, Arafat worries that once the Hebron accord is made final, international pressure on Israel will cease and other scheduled Israeli redeployments will not occur.

Arafat is “extraordinarily distrustful of any kind of commitment from the Israelis,” the U.S. official said.

But without moving forward with the agreement, he said, there will be little chance to build confidence between the two sides.

The unusually strong comments followed a nudge Thursday from Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who urged Palestinians to respond to recent Israeli moves aimed at bringing the negotiations to fruition.

“The Israelis have made some moves in connection with Hebron. We think it’s time for the Palestinians, for Chairman Arafat, to respond to those moves, to reciprocate those moves,” Christopher said, without elaborating.

Israeli officials welcomed Christopher’s remarks, which they saw as supporting their accusations of foot-dragging by the Palestinians in 10 weeks of talks.

The Palestinians, in turn, have insisted that Israel implement the existing agreement, which called for Israel to turn over about 80% of the city to Palestinian control.

Earlier in the week, Israel had come in for criticism of its own, when President Clinton described Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as obstacles to peace.

“The Americans know full well it isn’t Israel that is delaying the [Hebron] talks and it is now the Palestinians’ turn,” Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh said Friday, according to Israel Radio.

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But Arafat expressed pessimism about the chances for an accord soon and doubts about Ross’ status as an impartial broker between the parties.

“The most important thing is that Ross has to be is an accurate mediator and not to be biased on the side of the Israelis,” he said.

Ross, who spent three weeks trying to broker a Hebron deal in October, is scheduled to arrive in Israel tonight. He is expected to return to Washington by mid-week.

Under terms of a 1995 Israeli-Palestinian agreement, Israeli troops were scheduled to pull out of most of Hebron in March.