Mideast Talks Halted When Midlevel Team Fails to Show

The long-awaited resumption of Middle East peace talks stumbled Monday when Secretary of State Madeleine Albright cut short the first meeting, complaining that the Palestinian delegation did not include the technical experts needed for detailed negotiations with Israelis.

Albright convened a preliminary meeting in her office with the delegation chiefs, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy and Mahmoud Abbas, a deputy to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

But when Albright tried to turn the talks to such nitty-gritty issues as establishment of an airport, seaport and industrial park to serve Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, she found that the Palestinian technicians were not present.

The facilities were promised as part of Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, but the two sides have been unable to agree on details.

“They’re not here and . . . without them we won’t be able to make any progress,” State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said of the midlevel Palestinian negotiators.

Later, Arafat relented, agreeing to send two of the technical experts to talks later this week, Israel Radio reported.

On Monday, Arafat sent two of his top aides, Saeb Erekat and Nabil Shaath, along with Abbas. Selection of that trio, among the most important Palestinian officials after Arafat, indicated that the Palestinian leader wanted the Washington talks to concentrate on major issues such as the further withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a freeze on the building of Israeli settlements.

Rubin said those issues are on Albright’s agenda but that the secretary of State also hopes to make progress on lesser issues that would give average Palestinians a greater stake in the peace process.

The procedural disconnect is only the latest symptom of the mutual mistrust that has plagued the Middle East peace process for more than a year. Last week, Albright had chided Israel for failing to send any negotiators at all. This week, with the Israeli delegation in place, she judged the Palestinians to be short-handed.

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The Palestinians have complained for months that Israel has been dragging its feet on interim steps promised in the peace agreement. But on Monday, Arafat called for talks on the main political issues only.

“What is important is the further redeployment [of Israeli troops] and to discuss all the main issues,” Arafat said at his office in Gaza City, according to Associated Press.

Clinton administration peace envoy Dennis B. Ross sought to hammer out a compromise in Washington on the procedural wrangle.