
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 18, 1994                   TAG: 9410180125
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AMMAN, JORDAN                                LENGTH: Medium

ISRAEL, JORDAN AT PEACE

Jordan and Israel initialed a draft treaty Monday to end nearly a half-century of hostility, intensifying pressure on Syria to move toward ending one of the world's longest-running conflicts.

The accord, reached after an all-night session that resolved disputes over water rights and borders, was expected to be quickly ratified by the Jordanian and Israeli legislatures. The Israeli Cabinet approved it within hours after it was signed.

After Monday's ceremony, Israeli President Ezer Weizman said Syrian President Hafez Assad ``should look around and see ... He may be the last in line'' to make peace with Israel.

But in Damascus, where government-run newspapers have said daily that Israel was not to be trusted, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said: ``We hope the Israeli government will realize the fact that, without achieving peace with Syria and Lebanon, there will be no peace in the region ... This is the reality.''

King Hussein of Jordan, who maintained clandestine contacts with Israeli leaders for years despite the state of war between the two countries, insisted the treaty heralded a new era. ``Hopefully, it is a fresh beginning and a fresh start,'' he said.

And Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel called it a ``historically unique moment'' and said he hoped a full-fledged treaty would be signed by the end of next week.

Israel TV said the full accord would be signed Oct. 26 on the Jordan-Israel border. President Clinton accepted an invitation to attend.

Israel and Jordan signed a non-belligerency pact July 25 in Washington, and since then had been working to resolve differences that stood in the way of a full-fledged peace treaty.

``I believe this peace is an important achievement,'' a weary Rabin told reporters in Jerusalem after returning from Monday's ceremony and the overnight meetings in Jordan. ``I think it will also have repercussions where Syria and the Palestinians are concerned.''

Peace talks with Syria have lagged over Damascus' demand that Israel relinquish the Golan Heights captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Polls show most Israelis oppose giving up the Golan.

by CNB