Barak, Arafat find compromise at Mideast summit

Clinton announces the summit agreement in Egypt

WEB EXCLUSIVE On the scene with Christiane Amanpour in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

WEB EXCLUSIVE On the scene with CNN's Rula Amin in Gaza City, Gaza

Israel will redeploy troops; Palestinians to restore law and order

In this story: U.S.-led fact-finding mission Early morning agreement RELATED STORIES, SITES

CNN Correspondents John King and Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (CNN) -- Marathon talks at the emergency Mideast summit in Egypt produced an Israeli-Palestinian agreement Tuesday aimed at ending nearly three weeks of bitter clashes in the West Bank and Gaza.

U.S. President Bill Clinton, who helped negotiate the agreement, said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had agreed to take "immediate concrete measures" to end the current violence -- including a redeployment of Israeli troops in the region and a restoration of law and order in the Palestinian territories.

VIDEO Clinton announces the agreement (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Barak holds a news conference after the summit (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi comments by phone at the summit's conclusion (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     GALLERY Turmoil surrounds first day of Middle East summit (Oct. 16)     ALSO Barak says end of violence will be true test of summit agreement West Bank, Gaza still wracked by violence after summit agreement Palestinians 'enraged' by Sharm el-Sheikh agreement     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     RESOURCES Mideast struggle for peace

In addition, Israel agreed to end its closure of Palestinian areas and to reopen the Gaza airport.

"Both sides have agreed to issue public statements unequivocally ending the violence" and would eliminate points of friction, Clinton said at a session announcing the agreement.

After the summit ended, Barak told CNN Correspondent Christiane Amanpour that he hoped the agreement was a good one, but added that the ultimate test would be whether the violence actually ends.

In Ramallah, a clash between demonstrators and Israeli soldiers broke out shortly after Clinton made his statement. There were also reports a clash in Bethlehem.

Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Authority spokeswoman, said Palestinians were "enraged" because they felt the agreement was reached under duress.

The violence, which began on September 28 after a controversial visit to an east Jerusalem shrine by Israeli opposition leader Arial Sharon, has killed nearly 100 people, all but a few of them Palestinians or Israeli Arabs, and wounded hundreds more.

Clinton warned that the path back to peace would be a difficult one, and he said that the finger-pointing and blame that has characterized many public comments from both sides for the past three weeks will serve only to damage the process.

"We should have no illusions about the difficulties ahead," he said. "If we are going to rebuild confidence and trust, we must all do our part, avoiding recrimination and moving forward."

U.S.-led fact-finding mission

Although the statement coming from the summit did not contain specifics, the document satisfied all three goals set by Clinton at the start of the summit -- restoration of calm in the region, establishment of a fact-finding mission on the causes of the violence and a commitment to return to peace negotiations.

The United States agreed to lead the fact-finding mission in conjunction with the Israelis and Palestinians and in consultation with the United Nations. Clinton said the results would be shared with the U.N. and released under the auspices of his office.

The mission had been one of the key sticking points of the Sharm el-Sheikh talks -- Arafat had insisted on a U.N.-led mission, but Barak wanted the United States to head up the inquiry -- and the agreement represented a compromise.

Finally, Clinton said, the leaders agreed to consultation with the United States on a return to the negotiating table.

And according the U.S. officials who spoke with CNN Correspondent John King, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are expected to return to the table "within two or three weeks."

Early morning agreement

Still at issue, however, was the question of how Palestinians and Israelis would receive the compromises their leaders made at Sharm el-Sheikh. Both Barak and Arafat faced tremendous pressure at home to hold firm to hard-line stances. They agreed to the summit after intense pressure from U.S. and international leaders.

Clinton worked well into Monday night on the agreement, holding alternating meetings with Arafat and Barak, as well as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

While Clinton dealt directly with the leaders, U.S. CIA Director George Tenet and Middle East envoy Dennis Ross shuttled among other delegates trying to hammer out the compromise.

Clinton had indefinitely postponed plans to return to Washington so he could continue with the talks, said an aide.

In all, Clinton met four times with Barak and three times with Arafat from the beginning of the summit Monday morning through 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, when the final session broke off. Three hours later, the leaders appeared before the cameras -- Barak and Arafat standing briefly on either side of the American president -- for the announcement of the statement.

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