White House 'looking beyond' violence to Mideast peace deal

In this story: Palestinians, Israelis assign blame Barak: Sharm el-Sheikh not implemented More killed in Gaza, West Bank clashes Reconciliation sought RELATED STORIES, SITES

CNN Correspondents Andrea Koppel and Fionnuala Sweeney and Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When U.S. President Bill Clinton and his Mideast peace team meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat this week, they will not be focusing on ending the current cycle of violence in the region, but "looking beyond it," a senior State Department official told CNN on Monday.

"There has to be a way to advance, not retreat," he said, adding the U.S. will be looking to determine "what is possible," for a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians and "what is not."

The official, a longtime U.S. negotiator, said the U.S. still believes that a comprehensive Mideast peace deal is possible by the end of the year. But its contents, the official said, will be determined in part by "how much the current crisis affected the substance" of what was discussed this summer at the summit that drew Barak and Arafat to Camp David, Maryland.

VIDEO No matter who is the next U.S. president, CNN's Tom Mintier says he will face old problems in the Mideast (November 6) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO 20,000 gather to remember Israeli peacemaker Rabin     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     RESOURCES Ariel Sharon: Peacemaker or peace breaker?

"With urgency, people usually end up making the decisions they don't want to make," he said.

Palestinians, Israelis assign blame

The comments came on a day when more clashes erupted across Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza, leaving at least three more Palestinians dead. Palestinian and Israeli leaders pointed accusing fingers at one another, assigning blame for the violence that continues after numerous meetings, agreements and "understandings" aimed at restoring calm to the troubled region.

Barak said his meeting with Clinton, scheduled for Sunday, would "support the American effort to put an end to the violence and to stabilize the situation on the ground."

He flatly rejected a Palestinian demand for an international peacekeeping force in the region, saying such a presence would "reward ... the Palestinians' violence."

But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said a peacekeeping force would be on the agenda of Arafat's Thursday meeting with Clinton, along with the formation of an international fact-finding mission aimed at uncovering the roots of the violence -- which the Palestinians believe lies in Israeli policy toward them.

"The problems of what is happening today is the Israeli occupation, and it's time to start ending this occupation," Erakat said.

The U.S. official who spoke with CNN acknowledged that "domestic political realities in the region will shape whether the leaders can find their way back."

"We need to see if there is enough political space in each community," said the official. "Can the leaders negotiate, and can they market it?"

Barak: Sharm el-Sheikh not implemented

Barak said the Palestinians showed no interest in abiding by an "understanding" the two sides reached three weeks ago at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"We are judging it according to the results, and the results show that the understandings of Sharm el-Sheikh had not been implemented as of now," Barak said.

The Palestinians say it is the Israelis who are perpetuating the violence, and that Palestinians have a right to protest.

"President Arafat is in control, but President Arafat is not trying and has no interest in stopping the peaceful Palestinian protests against the Israeli occupation," said Palestinian political analyst Ghassan Khatib. "He believes that this is useful because his public is angry and frustrated."

So far, this round of fighting has killed 189 people: 159 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs and 17 Israeli Jews, according to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent.

More killed in Gaza, West Bank clashes

While their leaders prepared to travel to Washington, the bitter and sometimes brutal violence between the Israelis and Palestinians continued into its sixth bloody week.

Several Palestinians were reported injured in fighting on Monday in Hebron and the Erez checkpoint in Gaza, where Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers after the funeral of a 28-year-old Palestinian killed on Sunday.

Doctors at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said two Palestinians were killed -- a 17-year-old as well as a man whose age was not given -- near Deir al-Balah. Palestinian hospital officials said four Palestinians had been injured by live ammunition. In addition, they said, four others had been injured by rubber bullets and one by tear gas.

According to hospital officials in the West Bank, a 14-year-old Palestinian was shot dead in a clash at Tulkarm. No further details on the clashes were available.

Monday's clashes pitted stone- and firebomb-throwing Palestinians against Israeli soldiers armed with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition.

In Jerusalem, Barak had faced a series of no-confidence motions in the Israeli Knesset, filed by Arab members upset over the deaths of the 13 Israeli Arabs. The motions were considered symbolic and were later withdrawn.

Reconciliation sought

The international fact-finding commission on the roots of the current crisis is expected to begin work soon, and U.S. officials said the commission will "not engage in recrimination," but look at both the "causes and the evolution" of the crisis.

They say it will seek to offer some "reconciliation" between the two sides -- conclusions that offer Arafat something to take to the Palestinian victims' families and inspire him to call an end to the violence, but that are not overly tough on Barak and the Israeli use of force in the territories.

That is one reason the U.S. has been resistant to sign on to an idea, being floated around the U.N. Security Council, calling for an international force to provide protection for the Palestinians under Israeli fire.

While they have been publicly reluctant to criticize Barak's use of force against the Palestinians, officials did acknowledge the current "cycle of funeral-confrontation-funeral," has been fed not only by "concentrated efforts by the Palestinians," but also by "a disproportionate use of force" on the Israeli side.

The biggest fears for the U.S. peace team hinge on the idea that the violence will become so commonplace "that it can't be put back into the box." That, said one official, would lead to "the perception that negotiations don't work" and would destroy the "very essence" of the years of efforts by all the parties.

Arafat and Barak to meet with Clinton in separate peace talks, White House says
November 5, 2000
Barak says he will participate in Washington peace talks if Arafat will
November 4, 2000
Clinton hopes for meetings with Arafat, Barak
November 3, 2000
Hope remains for Mideast truce deal despite fatal Jerusalem bombing
November 2, 2000
Agreement to implement cease-fire reached, Barak's office says
November 1, 2000
Peres, Arafat will meet, try to end Mideast violence
October 31, 2000
Barak outlines path to peace; Israeli helicopters open fire
October 30, 2000

United Nations
Israel Defense Forces
Addameer: Palestinian Human Rights Association
International Red Cross Red Crescent
Clashes Information Center
Palestinian State Information Service
Live Western Wall Camera at Aish
Palestinian National Authority Home Page
The Israeli Government's Official Web site
The Knesset, Israeli Parliament
Likud Home Page
About the West Bank
Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
U.S. State Department

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.