Clinton meets with Barak, Arafat at summit after U.S. withdraws proposals

President Clinton talks with Palestinian senior negotiator Sabe Erekat, center, and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at the presidential Camp David retreat on Friday

July 14, 2000
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT)

In this story: Jerusalem the center of discussion Albright meets PLO leaders RELATED STORIES, SITES

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (CNN)-- U.S. President Bill Clinton met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Camp David on Friday -- a day after Arafat apparently was offended by U.S. proposals he thought too similar to Israel's.

The U.S. withdrew the proposals and is now considering whether to draft new ones or let the two parties negotiate directly, officials told CNN.

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The White House would not say whether Clinton's meeting with the two leaders yielded any progress.

"I think commenting on that would break the basic tenets of the news blackout," said White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart.

He characterized as "intractable" the issues now under discussion at the peace summit. "These are issues that go to the vital interests of both of the parties, so this is very serious," he said. "At times discussions are tense, but that should be no surprise to anyone."

Israeli sources told CNN the fate of Jerusalem is one issue said to be under spirited summit discussion. The source said there is talk, advanced by Barak, of Israel relinquishing control of some Palestinian enclaves in east Jerusalem. In return, Israel wants to keep portions of the West Bank most heavily settled by Jews.

U.S. officials expelled an Israeli lawmaker from a Camp David media center because of her comments on the proposal.

"We won't build another iron curtain within Jerusalem -- this is something Israel will not accept," Limor Livnat, a member of the opposition Likud party, told CNN.

A U.S. official upbraided Livnat for using the media center to voice her opposition to Barak's peace policies, and expelled her from the property.

On Wednesday, U.S. officials chastised Palestinian cabinet minister Nabil Amr for addressing reporters on the high-stakes negotiations that Washington wants to keep squarely behind a wall of silence.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright left Camp David to meet with Palestinian opposition leaders who traveled to the United States in an attempt to talk with Arafat.

Albright met with the group, which included two government ministers who are Arafat backers and two opposition leaders from the Palestine Liberation Organization.

"She thought it was a good meeting and Arafat thought it was important (for her) to take this time to listen to their point of view," Lockhart said.

The group tried to meet with Arafat at the peace summit but was turned away from Camp David. A U.S. official said, "The point is we have the leaders up here without the distraction of the outside world."

But PLO Executive Committee member Suleiman Najab said, "It is an effort by the Americans to isolate Arafat in order to put pressure on him."

Palestinian sources said Albright's meeting with the group, held in Emmittsburg, Maryland, lasted 75 minutes. They said Albright described the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians as a struggle.

The Palestinians said they received a phone call from Arafat before the meeting, and he told them to speak honestly with Albright.

According to the Palestinians, the decision on whether they will be able to meet with Arafat is up to Clinton.

From CNN's Sausan Ghosheh , Larry Register and Andrea Koppel in Thurmont, Maryland.

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The Israeli Government's Official Website, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Knesset - The Israeli Parliament
Palestinian National Authority Home Page
U.N. Information System: Palestine
Near Eastern Affairs: Middle East Peace Process
Camp David Accords
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
PM Barak Briefs Cabinet Prior to Camp David Summit - 9-Jul-2000

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