Palestinians Ask U.S. to Put Peace Proposals Out in Open

A senior Palestinian official said Sunday that the Palestinians will not agree to renegotiate the specifics of a U.S. peace initiative they accepted in May, and he called on the Clinton administration to go public with its ideas for jump-starting the deadlocked peace process.

“We urge the United States to submit [its] report,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in Jerusalem. “It is the right time to say where things stand with the initiative and to say clearly who has accepted it and who has not.”

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has agreed to the U.S. proposals, which call on Israel to cede an additional 13% of West Bank land to the Palestinians over 12 weeks in exchange for concrete Palestinian steps against terrorism and an immediate launching of negotiations to reach a final settlement in the region. Israel has sought to change the initiative, insisting that it cannot accept the package without jeopardizing its security.

In recent months, as relations between Israel and the Palestinians have deteriorated, U.S. officials have abandoned their traditional “facilitator” role and mediated directly between the sides, offering their own ideas for reviving the negotiations.

But Friday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright signaled U.S. frustration with the continuing lack of progress and said that only face-to-face talks between the sides can clear the remaining obstacles to a West Bank agreement.

“We don’t think this impasse can be resolved . . . if they do not talk with each other,” Albright said.

In reaction, both Palestinian and Israeli officials said Sunday that they would be happy to talk with one another, blaming the other side for the lack of direct contact.

“We welcome the U.S. statements with open arms,” said David Bar-Illan, a senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have always believed that the only way to negotiate is to sit at the same table and resolve our differences.”

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The Palestinians, however, expressed concern that Albright’s comments may indicate a weakening U.S. resolve to press Netanyahu on the American initiative and that the Clinton administration will now turn to them to make further concessions.

Israel has demanded that the Palestinians convene the 700-member Palestine National Council to revoke clauses in its national charter that call for Israel’s destruction. The Palestinians argue that the changes were made several years ago and that the U.S. administration and Israel’s government at the time were satisfied.

Netanyahu also reportedly is seeking U.S. support for a compromise plan under which the Palestinians would receive 10% of West Bank territory with another 3% to remain in a more transitional category.

The Palestinians reject the idea.

Nonetheless, Albright has intensified her efforts to win an agreement.