Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993 TAG: 9309110197
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"It is more than just a possibility," a senior U.S. official said Friday night. He said that the PLO was pushing hard for a role for Arafat in the South Lawn ceremony and that President Clinton was taking the position that it is up to the PLO to choose its delegation.
Arafat could sign the agreement for the PLO or join in the audience that will include at least two former presidents, Jimmy Carter and George Bush, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said Israel was aware of the development. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is expected to sign the agreement for Israel.
On another front, Jordan's King Hussein gave fresh momentum Friday to the snowballing move toward Middle East peace by announcing his government expects to reach agreement with Israel next week on rules to govern their negotiations for normal relations.
U.S. officials said Israel and Jordan were in virtual agreement on an "agenda for peace" that could serve as a framework for a peace treaty.
The officials said that if a few remaining details were cleared up, the agreement would be announced Tuesday at the State Department.
Final details were being worked on by Secretary of State Warren Christopher in his office Friday evening with Jordanian Ambassador Fayez Tarawneh. "Otherwise, it's ready," the official told The Associated Press.
Israel's agreement with Jordan, which has received little attention, would serve as a framework for a peace treaty between the two countries.
It provides for a secure border and cooperation on conserving scarce water supplies.
The king's remarks followed Friday's formal signing by the leaders of Israel and the PLO of a mutual recognition agreement. President Clinton scheduled a White House ceremony for Monday for the signing of an Israeli-PLO accord granting Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jericho.
Clinton, endorsing the Jordanian accord expected Tuesday and the parallel, mutual recognition accord between Israel and the PLO, said, "There plainly will be some guarantees."
At the same time, the president announced a resumption of U.S. communication with the PLO after more than three years of icy distance following an abortive raid on a Tel Aviv beach by members of a PLO faction.
The talks will begin with the arrival of a Palestinian delegation, said a senior U.S. official.
"Today marks the dawning of a new era," Clinton said. "Now there is an opportunity to define the future of the Middle East in terms of reconciliation and coexistence and the opportunities that children growing up there will have, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian."
Standing in bright sunshine in the Rose Garden, a pleased expression on his face, the president said of the Israel-PLO agreement: "I want to express the full support of the United States for this dramatic and promising step."
Clinton stressed that the administration would try to extend the breakthrough on the Palestinian front to Israel's negotiations with Syria and Lebanon.
The White House was arranging an elaborate ceremony Monday to seal the accord between Israel and the PLO. Clinton called former U.S. presidents and Arab leaders from Air Force One on his way to Sunnyvale, Calif., to inspect a technology plant.
Former President Carter, who presided at the 1979 signing by Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin, said in St. Paul, Minn.: "I have to express optimism. The achievements of the last few weeks have been momentous, unexpected, unprecedented."
The PLO had hoped the administration would persuade Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to attend for Israel, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. An exchange of statements of mutual recognition by Rabin and Arafat cleared the way for the signing.
A senior administration official, briefing reporters Thursday night at the White House, ruled out sending American troops to Gaza or to the West Bank as part of a peacekeeping operation.
But Clinton left that door open. Asked what the United States would do to help ensure the security of Israel and the fledgling Palestinian authority in Gaza and Jericho, he replied: "That has to be worked out by the parties. There will plainly be some peace guarantees, through what mechanism it's not clear."
by CNB