Mideast talks end with no agreement

Clinton, center, meets with advisers as the Mideast peace summit continues at Camp David

July 25, 2000
Web posted at: 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT)

In this story: Clinton called for language describing gains Partial agreement a possibility? Holy city, holy problems Talks stretch on Still other issues to be decided RELATED STORIES, SITES

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (CNN) -- White House officials said Tuesday that the Camp David summit had ended with no agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

U.S. President Bill Clinton, a spokesman said, concluded that there was no possibility that the two sides could come to an agreement and called off the talks.

The talks, ongoing at Camp David for more than two weeks, reached a critical juncture on Tuesday after two late nights of "exhaustive and exhausting" negotiations that did not bring the two sides to agreement.

VIDEO Watch Clinton's announcement on the end of the talks Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart comments on the continuation of the Mideast talks at Camp David 1.3MB/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound President Clinton announces that the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis have collapsed without an agreement Part 1 2.2MB/60 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Part 2 2.1MB/60 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Part 3 2.4MB/60 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Part 4 2.2MB/55 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     ALSO Israeli spy's release again comes up at Camp David summit     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace

Israeli sources said that Prime Minister Ehud Barak was prepared to leave the talks, and Palestinian sources said the same about Yasser Arafat.

"He is very angry and he doesn't believe the Israelis are willing to make peace. It's a waste of time to stay here any longer," said a Palestinian official, in touch with negotiators at Camp David.

Earlier, Israel sources told CNN the talks had "broken down" and that logistical preparations were being made for the team to leave.

Sources said the main sticking point in negotiations remained Jerusalem, the ancient city with age-old cultural and religious importance to Palestinians, Israelis, Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Such threats to walk out of negotiations have long been part of the arduous Mideast peace process. Both Arafat and Barak ordered bags packed earlier during the negotiations, only to renege at the last minute. And last week, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart announced the breakdown of negotiations as Clinton was preparing to leave for the Group of Eight summit in Japan.

But 90 minutes after that announcement last week, a bleary-eyed Clinton appeared before news to say the talks would continue under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's guidance in his absence.

Clinton called for language describing gains

On Tuesday, Clinton was again preparing to leave Camp David, this time for a brief personal trip to Arkansas to attend the funeral of an old family friend. The negotiators ran into the latest obstacles while working on draft language, requested by Clinton, describing gains reached in three weeks of Mideast peace talks.

A source close to the talks at Camp David told CNN that the president hoped to get both sides to recognize their discussions have "broken significant new ground" and put them close to resolving most of their major differences.

Barak and Arafat came to Camp David on July 11 at the behest of the U.S. president.

If the two sides are able to identify clearly their common ground, the source said, Clinton would use "the foundation as a springboard" to convince the Israelis and Palestinians that they could not afford to walk away from the summit without an agreement.

Partial agreement a possibility?

Some U.S. officials, a step removed from the talks but often involved in discussions about them, said they do not rule out the idea of Clinton pushing for a partial agreement, or as one put it, "a framework of progress," if another day or two passes without resolution.

But these officials acknowledged that senior negotiators on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides have ruled out such a possibility.

Senior Palestinian officials very familiar with the talks said that Jerusalem continues to be "the main item on the agenda." The officials dismiss any reports they will settle for an agreement that puts the issue of Jerusalem on the side or postpones it until a later date.

At issue is the Palestinians' claim on east Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state and the Israelis' insistence that the ancient city remain undivided and in Israeli hands forever.

The Palestinian officials describe the talks about Jerusalem as difficult and have said it would be almost impossible to put Jerusalem aside since the future of the city is tied to so many of the other "core" issues such as borders, settlements, and security.

But Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper quoted a U.S. source saying that both Barak and Arafat had told Clinton he could "examine the alternative of a partial agreement" that left out Jerusalem.

Holy city, holy problems

Reports have indicated that the Jerusalem talks may now be divided into two fronts -- East Jerusalem and the Old City, home to holy sites of three major religions. Muslims, Jews and Christians fear that control of the Old City by one or the other side would mean limited access to sacred spots.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Yossi Beilin said the resolution on that issue, at least, is one of cooperation.

"The solution for the old city of Jerusalem should be a symbolic one and should be of cooperation rather than of division," he said. "Division here is something which is inconceivable, but cooperation here is a must."

Clinton will leave the talks about noon to attend a memorial service for a longtime family friend in Arkansas. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who subbed for Clinton during his Japan trip, is to conduct the negotiations in his absence. The president will return to Camp David late in the evening.

Talks stretch on

At fifteen days, the 2000 Camp David summit has already surpassed the 1978 Camp David summit, in which the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and the late President Anwar Sadat of Egypt signed a historical agreement ending decades of enmity between the two neighbors.

"Exhaustive and exhausting" was how Lockhart described the lengthy talks among Clinton and his team and the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams.

"I think everyone is feeling the effect of some late nights, but they're still hard at it," Lockhart said. Later, he said, "There's no way to predict how long this will go."

Late night meetings were the rule Monday night and Tuesday morning, as they were the night before, said National Security spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Still other issues to be decided

Other issues on the table were the future of Palestinian refugees and the question of how much land Israel will swap in exchange for annexing parts of the West Bank where there are large Jewish settlements.

Also, the discussions have focused on whether Israel should maintain a security presence on the eastern border of the proposed Palestinian state, which would be shared with Jordan.

Beilin, noting that the outcome was still far from certain, sounded a note of optimism about the talks.

"We still don't know whether the negotiations will be concluded very soon or not. It seems a long process," he said. "The difficulties are still there, but there is also hope as a result of the fact that we talk. There are ideas -- creative ideas -- and there is a very deep commitment on the part of the American president in order to complete these talks."

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna, CNN Correspondent Kelly Wallace CNN State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Camp David negotiators set Jerusalem aside, turn to other issues
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July 19, 2000
White House expects Mideast peace summit to 'wrap up' by Wednesday
July 17, 2000

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