Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Israel, Jordan agree on peace accord outline Date: Fri, 30 Oct 92 15:33:28 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD Israel, Jordan agree on peace accord outline \BY Warren Strobel \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Israel and Jordan reached agreement on the basic outline of an eventual peace accord, diplomatic sources said yesterday as the Middle East peace talks turned 1 year old. The outline, which still must be approved by senior officials in Amman and Jerusalem, describes what a peace treaty between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbor might look like. It would serve as a blueprint for what is expected to be long and complex haggling. Word of the draft agreement punctured an otherwise somber atmosphere at the talks, which have struggled without a major breakthrough and now face the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election. At a joint news conference yesterday, chief Arab delegates bemoaned the lack of progress and called for more U.S. intervention. But they did not threaten to quit the talks or lay down a deadline for achieving agreement. "We are today celebrating the first anniversary, not in great joy, unfortunately, because whatever progress has been made is minimal," said Muwaffak Allaf, the chief Syrian delegate to the negotiations. But his Jordanian counterpart was markedly more upbeat. "I think this year was not held in vain," said Abdel Salaam Majali. "I think there was a lot [of] understanding on both sides." Jordan and Israel still must overcome differences over their border, refugees and other issues such as water. U.S. officials pointed to the nearly complete agreement of principles as proof that the peace talks are steadily progressing, despite attempts by radical groups in the Middle East to sabotage them. "The Israelis and Jordanians made real and serious progress in their discussions," Edward Djerejian, assistant secretary of state for Near East and South Asian affairs, told a State Department briefing. Noting the anniversary, he said, "A year ago today, none of this existed. Today, virtually all the Arabs and the Israelis are talking in multiple venues about peace." The peace talks, arranged by the United States after the Persian Gulf war, opened with a peace conference in Madrid on Oct. 30, 1991. Under the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir the talks made little progress, and Mr. Shamir later admitted he wanted to mark time while reinforcing Israel's control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since Yitzhak Rabin of the Labor Party defeated Mr. Shamir in June, the negotiations' atmosphere lightened noticeably, although they have yet to overcome the issues that dogged Arabs and Israelis for decades. The current, seventh round reconvenes on Nov. 9. U.S. officials yesterday noted that the talks survived much turmoil in the Middle East, including a bloody new round of violence in southern Lebanon. A senior State Department official said yesterday that the Bush administration is certain that attacks on Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas, which started the latest fighting, were aimed at disrupting the peace talks. The official blamed Iran, Hezbollah's chief backer and also a major opponent of the peace negotiations. "The connection is evident," he said. While the talks continued in the face of some domestic Arab and Israeli opposition, Arab delegates say they are growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress. Palestinians representing residents of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were the most vocal. "Discussion without real progress can be accepted only for a while," said the chief Palestinian delegate, Haidar Abdel-Shafi. Noting that the original timetable called for agreement within one year on partial Palestinian self-government, he said, "We are in need of a [new] timetable." While the Palestinians hinted they might ask the United States to set a deadline and generally take a more forceful role at the talks, Mr. Djerejian gave no hint of a switch in the U.S. approach. Mr. Adbel-Shafi said some Palestinian delegates personally would like to withdraw from the talks. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM