Cease-Fire Dead, For Now

Barak Takes Time Out; Arafat Tells Him 'Go to Hell'

Oct. 22 - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told Prime Minister Ehud Barak
to "Go to Hell" today after the Israeli leader said he was taking a "time
out" from the peace process to reassess the violence against Israelis in
Palestinian territories.
"My response [to the time-out] is, our people is continuing their
road to Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state," he said. Whether
Barak accepts that or not, Arafat said, "Let him go to hell."
The escalating rhetoric came after leaders of Arab Nations meeting in
Cairo issued a statement condemning Israel for the violence and threatened
to cut ties with the Israelis unless the situation improves.
But the summit, under the influence of moderate Arab states led by
Egypt, fell far short of more radical Arab demands to immediately sever
all ties with Israel and abandon the peace process.
Barak praised the summit host, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, but
said he would not be swayed by threats from the Arab Nations.
"We need to have a time-out whose goal is to reassess the peace
process in light of the events of the last few weeks," Barak told his
weekly Cabinet meeting.

Palestinian and Israelis agreed to a cease-fire during a peace summit at
the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
But the violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has showed little
signs of abating.
Four Palestinians died in clashes, including two teenage Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip, and two Palestinian men near the West Bank town of
Hebron. Stone-throwing clashes were reported in several chronic trouble
spots in Gaza and the West Bank.
This brought the total to 121 dead - the vast majority Palestinian -
in three weeks of violence.
Palestinian gunmen in the village of Beit Jalla opened fire on
residential apartment buildings in Gilo, a suburb of Jerusalem. No
injuries were immediately reported, but bullets entered some homes.
Israeli police returned tank and machine-gun fire.
"One would have to be blind to security and political needs to
continue as if nothing has changed," Prime Minister Barak said at his
weekly Cabinet meeting. A statement issued by Barak's office did not say
how long the "time-out" would last.
For his part, Arafat, who seems to have emerged strengthened at home
by the summit which accused Israel of "barbarism" said the Palestinian
state would come, with or without the peace process - or Barak's approval.

A White House spokesman, Elliot Diringer, traveling with President Clinton
in New York, said the president was trying to reach Barak.
He said Clinton is still focusing on getting the parties to stick to
the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, "to get us past the immediate violence."
Despite the time-out, Israelis contend that the process is not dead
yet.
Israeli government spokesman Nachman Shai denied that by suspending
negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel is walking away from the peace
process.
Shai insisted to reporters in Jerusalem that a policy of unilateral
separation, literally sealing off Israel from the Palestinian territories,
is only an option at this point.

Egypt, meanwhile, headed off an Arab summit declaration that would mandate
breaking off ties with Israel.
Arab leaders today wrapped up their two-day summit on
Israeli-Palestinian violence with a carefully worded declaration that
stopped short of an outright call for cutting ties with Israel. The
outcome was quickly denounced by many across the Arab world, where
anti-Israel protests and calls for harsh action have filled streets all
month.
Today's declaration left the door open to Arab countries to sever
ties if they so choose: Arabs "hold Israel responsible for any steps taken
in regard to relations with Israel by Arab countries, including their
cancellation," said the statement read to a live television audience
across the region.
But the statement did not go as far as some Arab observers would have
liked. And while Tunisia took diplomatic steps against Israel even before
the summit concluded, Jordan and Egypt said they would not sever ties with
the Jewish state.
The summit leaders offered their condolences to the Palestinian
families, and they ask for the United Nations to investigate and punish as
they feel appropriate. They also suggested an act of solidarity to Arab
nations, asking families to donate one day's pay to help Palestinians with
reparations and educational efforts.
In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Barak praised summit host Hosni
Mubarak, the Egyptian president, for making "considerable effort to
maintain a balanced approach, which calls for peace and restraint, instead
of an extremist stance." But he also said Israel "rejects the threatening
language" of the final declaration.
"Israel totally rejects the language of threats that came out of the
summit and condemns the call, folded into the decisions, for continued
violence." Barak said.
Only Egypt and Jordan have diplomatic relations with Israel. Oman,
which along with Qatar had lower level ties, suspended relations on Oct.
12, closing Israel's trade mission in Muscat, the capital, and withdrawing
its trade envoy from Tel Aviv.

One Arab nation to take action during the summit was Tunisia, which closed
its liaison office in Israel and asked for the closure of a similar
Israeli office in Tunis. The move, Tunisia's Foreign Affairs ministry said
late Saturday, was made in light of "the dangerous escalation … of Israeli
aggression against the Palestinian people." Tunisia and Israel opened
economic interest offices in 1996, one of the lowest forms of diplomatic
representation.
Barak reiterated today to his cabinet that he'll go through with the
plan to declare a time out to re-evaluate the diplomatic process after
nearly a month of violence. Barak first announced his intention on Friday.
Some members of Barak's cabinet complain that a time out makes it
seem as though Israel is abandoning the peace process.
Since the violence erupted at the end of September, the Israelis and
Palestinians have not held negotiations on a political settlement, though
they have met in an effort to stop the current fighting. Several
cease-fires have been declared, but none have taken hold, and each new
round of clashes prompts bitter recriminations and calls for vengeance.
Just three months ago, Israelis and Palestinians were closer than
ever to a comprehensive settlement when they held intensive negotiations
overseen by President Clinton at Camp David.
But they failed to reach a breakthrough, and the latest violence is
the worst since the two sides launched regular negotiations seven years
ago.

ABC Radio's Bob Schmidt in Jerusalem, The Associated Press and Reuters
contributed to this report.

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