Hopes of a West Asia deal fade with new violence

JERUSALEM, JAN. 6. Israelis and Palestinians voiced increasing pessimism that a West Asia deal could be forged before the end of the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's term of office, now just two weeks away.

Israel radio quoted a Israeli negotiator, Mr. Gilead Sher as saying after talks with Mr. Clinton yesterday that time had run out for a deal with the Palestinians and the ``best that could be hoped for'' was a Presidential declaration outlining a future accord. The 30-minute meeting followed the death of two Palestinians shot by Israeli troops in a fresh wave of violence that cast a pall over Mr. Clinton's efforts to crown his eight years in the White House with a peace deal.

The Palestinian Planning Minister, Mr. Nabil Shaath told Israel Channel Two television it was important to continue the talks.

``What remains in time is very short and the matters are very complex and very difficult, but we should try, but not expect that we can arrive (at an agreement) by the 20th of January,'' Mr. Shaath said yesterday.

White House officials gave few details of the Clinton-Sher meeting, except to say that the President would consider points raised by the Israeli official as he decided on the next step to try to jumpstart the peace process.

Mr. Clinton is trying to get the two sides to revive stalled peace talks based on a blueprint he presented last month after five days of negotiations. The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak had said Mr. Sher's main priority in Washington was to discuss ending a 14-week-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in which 301 Palestinians, 43 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed.

Israel radio quoted Israeli officials as saying after Mr. Sher met Mr. Clinton that the door to peace talks remained open following a Palestinian response on Tuesday to the U.S. plan, but that there was no point yet in direct contact between the sides.

The Palestinian president, Mr. Yasser Arafat met Mr. Clinton in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the peace outline. White House officials said Mr. Arafat had approved it, with reservations.

``We've heard directly from both sides, we've heard in detail from both sides,'' a National Security Council spokesman, Mr. P.J. Crowley said. ``What we are trying to do at this point is to reconcile the concerns that both sides have about what the President has put forward. ``We're going to take a couple of days to evaluate their views, then I think in the next couple of days, Sunday or Monday, we'Ll be in a position to say what happens next.''

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director, Mr. George Tenet planned to leave today for Cairo to meet Palestinian and Israeli security officials to try to stop the fighting, a CIA official said.

- Reuters

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