ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
President Clinton extended U.S. help to Israel in countering terrorism Tuesday and moved toward a defense alliance ``to meet common threats in the years to come.''
Prime Minister Shimon Peres said the anti-terrorism accord strengthened Israel's hand in pursuing peace with Syria and Lebanon. The peace process would perish if terrorists succeeded, he said, because ``terror would win the day.''
After the signing, Clinton and Peres had lunch, and an announcement emerged from it on their agreement to explore putting the two countries' longtime military relationship on a more formal basis.
``U.S.-Israeli strategic cooperation will grow in importance'' in view of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other threats to regional peace, the White House said in a statement.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Israeli Foreign Minister Ehud Barak will head steering committees to carry out the agreement and also to deal with ways to make the $3 billion annual U.S. aid program to Israel more effective.
In their talk, Clinton and Peres took up Iran's nuclear program and ``the threat it poses to that region,'' said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Throughout his visit, which began Sunday in a meeting with Defense Secretary William Perry, Peres has identified terrorism generally and Iran specifically as Israel's major concerns. By contrast, he has praised PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat as a fighter against terrorism and said Israel wants to pursue peace accords with Lebanon and Syria.
Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, Peres met with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, who pledged their continued backing.
``We wanted to indicate our continued support on a bipartisan basis both for the peace process and the security of Israel,'' Gingrich said. ``We do not want to allow terrorism or acts of violence to slow the peace process.''
Clinton said terrorists ``aim to kill the growing hope for peace itself.''
``With every new step along the path to peace, its enemies grow more and more desperate,'' the president said. ``They know a new day is dawning in the Middle East.''
As Clinton and Peres signed the counterterrorism accord in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas exchanged rocket and mortar fire in southern Lebanon. In the first major incident since a cease-fire brokered by Christopher took effect Saturday, Israel retaliated against guerrilla rockets fired at an outpost of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army inside Lebanon.
The U.S. understanding with Israel and Lebanon was designed to protect civilians on both sides from attack but did not rule out exchanges between the Israeli defense force and the guerrillas.
Tuesday's agreement formalized Clinton's offer in March to provide Israel with technology, research and information on terrorists. During his visit Peres also gained a U.S. promise to help Israel with a laser defense system against Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets and, in the interim, a possible adaption of the U.S. Navy's Phalanx missile-defense system designed for warships.
``We must do everything in our power to stop the killing,'' Clinton said.
Clinton's support for Israel and showcasing of Peres, who is in a tough battle for election May 29, seems designed to boost the prime minister and endorse his policy of trading land for peace with the Arabs.
The leader of Israel's Likud opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, is more skeptical of Arab promises. While he is committed to Palestinian autonomy, he also is dubious about an Israeli pullback from the occupied Golan Heights, a buffer of 470 square miles inside Syria.
``Don't expect me now to lay down a map,'' Peres said at a joint news conference.
Clinton and Peres were a bit playful before the cameras. The prime minister used his pen and a scrap of paper to show the president how his name would look in Hebrew.
Clinton said inviting Peres here now was ``extremely appropriate'' and ``the right thing to do.'' He told reporters also that Israeli voters ``have shown pretty good judgment a long while now.''
The last election carried the late Yitzhak Rabin to the prime minister's office. He proceeded to conclude agreements with the Palestine Liberation Organization and Jordan in which Israel relinquished territory for pledges of peace.
Peres is expected to make similar offers to Syria and Lebanon if he wins. Negotiations to expand Palestinian rule on the West Bank are due to open May 5.
Today, Yasser calls on Clinton at the White House.
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