Arafat in U.S. to talk with Clinton as Mideast violence continues unchecked

Arafat arrives Tuesday in Washington for talks with Clinton     WEB EXCLUSIVE Matthew Chance discusses political pressures on Mideast peace

In this story: Time running out Little hope for peace RELATED STORIES, SITES

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israeli troops blocked off the main roads in Gaza on Tuesday following a series of gun battles and explosions that reportedly left one Palestinian dead and two Israeli soldiers wounded.

The news came as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in Washington to hear clarifications of U.S. President Bill Clinton's ideas to resolve the crisis.

The Israel Defense Forces said a number of explosions went off near army patrols around Jewish settlements in Gaza and at least two soldiers were injured.

In one incident, Israeli defense officials said a roadside bomb exploded near a patrol outside the Jewish settlement of Kfar Drom in the south of Gaza. Gun battles were reported around the Neve Dekalim settlement.

ALSO Palestinian refugees say right of return is priceless     RESOURCE Key points of U.S. peace proposals    VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance reports on heightened Israeli security due to Monday's bombing, as talks in Washington approach (January 2) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Rula Amin reports on Arafat's upcoming meeting with Clinton and protests against the peace process (January 1) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    GALLERIES Images from the Netanya car bombing A timeline of recent bombings     INTERACTIVE Key Issues     RELATED Clinton Tries One Last Time -- An inside look at the President's farewell push for peace     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     RESOURCES In-Depth: Israel Election 2001

Israeli soldiers shot dead a 52-year-old Palestinian farmer, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Palestinian officials said the man was working in his fields at the time.

The Israeli military said the incident was under investigation, and speculated that if true, the man may have been caught in crossfire when Israeli troops responded to Palestinian gunfire.

Time running out

Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority, elected to come to Washington after a 45-minute phone conversation initiated by Clinton on Monday.

"(Arafat) and the president said it might be useful to meet," White House National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley told CNN.

Clinton last month provided each side with proposals that he believed could be a basis for negotiating an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israelis accepted the ideas, with reservations, but the Palestinians asked for further clarification before making a decision.

Prospects that a deal could be hammered out before Clinton leaves office January 20 appeared to dwindle further late Monday when more than 20 Israelis were injured by a car bomb in the coastal city of Netanya.

In the wake of the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak -- facing an election battle on February 6 -- said he doubted Arafat was "serious enough" to reach a peace deal soon.

Barak said, however, that Israel was prepared to take part in talks at Clinton's invitation.

Little hope for peace

Despite Arafat's trip to the United States and Barak's stated willingness to talk, analysts on both sides expressed pessimism that any deal could be reached.

David Horowitz, editor of the Israeli news magazine The Jerusalem Report, told CNN that the Palestinian reservations about Clinton's proposals were "so profound and so central as to effectively render those proposals unworkable."

"The Israeli feeling is that there's really no mileage left in this diplomatic effort, and that (there is) a very bleak future to look forward to," he said.

Ghassan Al-Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and publisher of the Palestine Report, said that the Clinton proposals fail to address some very crucial points for the Palestinians.

"Some of it has to do with Palestinian refugees because the American ideas avoided explaining what is going to be the future of those refugees and they presented their ideas in very general terms," he said.

The Palestinians have demanded that Palestinian refugees who fled their homes and lands when the Jewish state gained independence in 1948 be allowed to return, along with their descendents. The Israelis have categorically rejected that demand, fearing that such an influx of Palestinians -- who now number in the millions -- would irrevocably alter the balance of Israel's population.

Al-Khatib rejected the Israeli contention that Arafat is not serious about peace.

"Arafat is willing to help end the conflict in a final way ... but only when Israel is willing to end completely its occupation (of) all the Palestinian-occupied territories," he said.

Horowitz, however, saw weak Palestinian leadership as the main block to peace.

"I think the Israeli governments down the years have prepared their people for the necessity for painful compromise," he said. "I think the Palestinian leadership has failed to prepare its people for the need to forgo some of their maximal demands."

CNN Correspondent Matthew Chance contributed to this report.

Arafat to meet Clinton on Middle East peace on Tuesday
January 1, 2001
High-profile killings deepen doubts about Mideast peace process
December 31, 2000
Mideast peace process limps along, shadowed by violence
December 29, 2000
Arafat meets with Mubarak as Mideast summit collapses
December 28, 2000
Gaza, Tel Aviv explosions reportedly kill 2, injure at least 15
December 28, 2000
Rula Amin: Mideast leaders face off over holy ground
December 26, 2000
Mike Hanna: Mideast officials on each side under pressure at home
December 22, 2000

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Israeli Prime Minister's Office
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Jewish Defense League
Addameer: Palestinian Human Rights Association
Palestinian National Authority
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