January 10, 2000
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST (0300 GMT)

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From staff and wire reports

SHEPHERDSTOWN, West Virginia (CNN) -- Israel and Syria will meet again January 19 at a yet-to-be-decided U.S. location to resume their peace talks, the State Department said Monday.

High-level talks between the two bitter Mideast enemies, led by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, broke off Monday after seven days at a secluded West Virginia resort. There was no agreement and little known progress.

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At the White House, President Clinton said the two sides "broke a lot of ground" in late-night talks Sunday at Shepherdstown 70 miles (112 km) outside Washington, but said, "it is tough."

VIDEO Jerusalem Bureau Chief Walter Rodgers reports on the conclusion of the first round of talks between Israel and Syria in the United States. (January 10) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin told reporters, "We feel like we've gotten ourselves on the right track, but we still have a long way to go. It's a big deal; it's got big implications, and it's going to take some time."

In Israel on Monday, more than 100,000 Israelis protested in Tel Aviv's main square in pouring rain against their government's reported willingness to relinquish the Golan Heights for peace with Syria.

Thousands in the square waved placards and Israeli flags as loudspeakers played recordings of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin -- assassinated in the same square after a 1995 peace rally -- stressing the Golan's strategic importance to Israel.

Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and the Interior minister in Barak's Cabinet, sat on the stage during the rally. Russian immigrants are seen as a core of opposition to a possible Golan-for-peace deal with Syria, which Barak has pledged to put to an unprecedented referendum.

Demonstrator Yona Doktorovich, holding a sign in Russian reading, "Together we'll keep the Golan," said, "If we give them land, we'll get only a piece of paper in return."

'We will win'

Eli Malka, a leader of the 17,000 Jewish settlers living on the Golan, told the rally: "We're in the majority, and we will win. ... We will take care of the Golan."

A return of the strategic plateau, captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, is Syria's asking price for peace.

The protest came despite denials of any agreement for a withdrawal from Israel's foreign minister, who had just returned from the U.S.-sponsored talks.

"There is no drawing of borders, and there are no agreements," Foreign Minister David Levy said at an airport news conference. "We can certainly not speak of results."

U.S. sources told CNN that both sides "need to take a breath."

At the Shepherdstown resort, Clinton dined and met for hours Sunday night with Barak and al-Sharaa. They discussed a seven-page document the president had given the two sides Friday in an effort to further clarify their positions so they could decide how to proceed.

"The president felt there was a very good and serious exchange of views," Rubin said. "All issues came up at the dinner."

The U.S. document was meant to help the two sides overcome issues still in dispute: A Syrian demand to know the scope and timetable of an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan and Israeli demands to discuss security arrangements, water and normalization of diplomatic ties.

Syrian sources told CNN the document puts into writing what has been discussed and gives them a point of reference should there be any future misunderstandings.

But the Syrians stressed this doesn't mean they "are satisfied with the content of the document."

A Syrian official added that Sunday's meeting was "crucial in deciding if this round is a success or a failure."

Earlier, Israeli officials described the document as "a good pointer" toward the future direction of talks.

Border issue not resolved

Rubin offered few details on the status of the negotiations, although he told reporters that the border issue -- precisely how far back Israel will withdraw in returning the Golan to Syria -- had not been resolved.

Syria has demanded that Israel withdraw to the border that existed before the start of the 1967 war. Israel has countered with an offer to withdraw to the 1923 borders between Syria and what was then Palestine.

Producer Larry Register, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.