Barak gives nod to U.S.-led panel on Israeli-Palestinian violence

"We remain focused on what we can do in the shorter term to break the cycle of violence," White House spokesman Jake Siewert said Tuesday

Clinton continues to work phones for Middle East peace

In this story: Indyk's security clearance restored Clinton continues to work phones Albright appeals to Syria, coordinates with Britain RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As U.S. President Bill Clinton sought support from Mideast leaders for an emergency summit to end the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he was ready to accept a commission led by the United States to look into the causes of the recent violence.

The primary U.S. interest is not simply holding a meeting, but getting the violence stopped, assessing what happened and looking at "where we go from here to accelerate the peacemaking process again," White House spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday.

The ongoing fighting in Israel and the Palestinian territories has killed at least 90 people in the last 13 days. While most of those killed were Palestinians, five Israelis -- including two soldiers -- were among the dead.

RESOURCES Israeli-Palestinian deaths since intifada View chart     ALSO U.N. leader heads to Lebanon to discuss captured Israeli soldiers     GALLERIES   • Palestinians clashed with the Israeli Army Tuesday for a sixth day   • Israeli-Palestinian clashes   • Scenes from the fighting Oct. 1, 2000   • Holy site violence

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has refused to return to the peace table until an international commission looks into the causes of the violence. He has proposed a commission that would include Arab countries.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Clinton administration supports the concept of fact-finding but said the panel's composition depends on the approval of both Israel and the Palestinians.

Mindful of pro-Palestinian sentiment abroad, Israel is resisting the idea of an international panel.

Indyk's security clearance restored

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has reinstated the security clearance of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.

State Department deputy spokesman Phillip Reeker said Albright did so Monday night for national security reasons -- so that Indyk could help U.S. efforts to deal with the crisis in the Middle East.

Indyk, who is in Israel, was given a full briefing on security procedures, and the department's bureau of diplomatic security concurred in Albright's decision, a senior State Department official said.

The official said Indyk will be allowed to keep his security clearance for the duration of the current Middle East crisis. After that, the matter will be reevaluated.

Indyk's security clearance had been suspended three weeks ago over questions involving his use of a laptop computer, and an investigation is under way.

One senior U.S. official said the investigation grew out of a department audit of State Department laptop computers after one highly classified laptop was found missing in April.

Auditors found a classified document on an unclassified laptop that was signed out to Ron Neuman when he was the deputy assistant secretary of state, serving as deputy assistant to Indyk. That document sparked the inquiry into Indyk.

He was warned "numerous times" by his supervisors about not following security procedures in the handling of classified documents and information, senior U.S. officials said.

At the time that Indyk's security clearance was revoked, a senior U.S. official with intimate knowledge of the case said it sounded like "overzealous pursuit of the enforcement of rules."

Clinton continues to work phones

Clinton spent Tuesday continuing his telephone diplomacy aimed at ending the violence. He spoke again with Barak and Arafat and also discussed the situation with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

White House press secretary Jake Siewert said there had been some easing of the overall tensions and level of violence. Both Barak and Arafat, he added, had taken some steps to improve the climate.

But Siewert pointedly said that Clinton had told Arafat "he could do more." The United States has been urging Arafat for days to call for Palestinians to refrain from violence and any potentially provocative actions, such as confronting Israeli security forces.

Annan met separately with Barak and Arafat and later said he was optimistic an end to the violence could be found.

Clinton had voiced hopes of holding a summit at Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on Tuesday rejected the idea of an emergency summit with Clinton, Arafat and Barak, saying the next important meeting on the issue would be an Arab summit in Cairo, Egypt, set for October 21.

Asked about Moussa's statement, Siewert said, "We remain focused on what we can do in the shorter term to break the cycle of violence."

Without giving specifics, Siewert said, "We have other options that we could employ. We remain committed to talking to both Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak to see what concrete steps they can take to move this process forward."

Officials for the Clinton administration said they were concerned the "temperature may not be low enough yet" for a summit. "We don't want a meeting just for a meeting's sake," said one.

Siewert said there was still no decision on whether to call an emergency summit, but he said the issue was discussed in Clinton's conversations with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

One senior U.S. official, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, said "several obstacles" to such a meeting had been worked out but that "a few significant wrinkles remain."

Administration sources told CNN that in internal deliberations about an emergency summit, several European cities have been mentioned as possible sites.

Albright appeals to Syria, coordinates with Britain

Albright spoke Tuesday on the phone with her counterparts from Syria and Israel.

Boucher said that in Albright's conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, she urged Damascus to use its influence with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon to gain the release of three Israeli soldiers abducted last weekend.

Speaking separately with acting Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, Albright appealed to Barak's government to show restraint, Boucher said.

Albright also spoke with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in an effort to further coordinate U.S.-British efforts to quell the violence.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King, CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CNN State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel and CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.

U.S.-sponsored Mideast summit still elusive
October 10, 2000
Clinton still trying for emergency summit
October 9, 2000
Bus shooting caps turbulent day in Middle East
October 7, 2000
Israel closes Palestinian borders anticipating more violence
October 6, 2000
Gaza fighting subsides despite failure at talks
October 5, 2000

Addameer: Palestinian Human Rights Association
  • September 2000 Clashes Information Center
Live Western Wall Camera at Aish
Official Palestinian National Authority Web site
Government: Palestinian National Authority
The Israeli Government's Official Web site
About the West Bank
U.S. State Department

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.