The latest talks in Washington between President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on reviving the Middle East peace process have ended with no sign of progress. Mr Clinton is meeting Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat on Thursday. Below is a selection of comment from Middle Eastern media:

Israeli source says Netanyahu-Clinton talks "war of attrition"

Excerpt from report by Israel radio on 21st January

... Various ideas are being discussed in a lengthy series of meetings between Benjamin Netanyahu, the members of his entourage and senior US officials, including Vice-President Al Gore, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

Our correspondents report that the United States is prepared for Israel to carry out a phased second redeployment in conjunction with the gradual implementation of the Palestinian commitments.

At the same time, Washington is asking Israel to begin implementing the withdrawal immediately as a show of goodwill. Meanwhile, the Palestinians will start upholding their side of the agreement.

A source in the prime minister's entourage described the prolonged meetings between Netanyahu and the US officials as a war of attrition and claimed that the Americans are trying to extort concessions from the prime minister.

The source noted that so far, the Americans have failed to extract any concessions from Mr Netanyahu.

Source: Voice of Israel, Jerusalem, in Hebrew 0500 gmt 21 Jan 98

Cairo dailies pessimistic, say current talks "last chance"

Excerpt from report by the Egyptian news agency MENA

Latest talks failed to end deadlock

Cairo, 21st January: Cairo newspapers this morning considered US President Bill Clinton's separate meetings in Washington with Palestinian [National] Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a last chance to achieve substantial progress in the peace process. They warn that unless such progress is made, the peace process will stop and collapse.

The newspaper `Al-Ahram' says the region is fed up with the deadly stalemate in the peace process since Netanyahu's ascent to power in Israel.

It adds that the Washington meetings are decisive in that the United States, as the sponsor of the peace process, shoulders a special responsibility towards the whole process.

It warns that any setback in the peace process after the Washington meetings will completely stop this process for a long time to come and will open the door wide to unbridled acts of violence, given that the region is sitting on a powder keg liable to explode at any time.

The newspaper `Al-Jumhuriyah' stresses that the Washington meetings are the last hope upheld by the peoples of the region.

The hope is that the US mediator will play a fair role in salvaging the Middle East peace process.

It warns that the alternative, besides being unpredictable, would also be very dangerous. There would be irreparable damage to the region if the peace process moves from the intensive care unit to the grave.

The newspaper says that regrettably the Israeli prime minister only sees his private goals and pays no attention to the rights of others. It wonders about the usefulness of these meetings since Washington has told the Palestinian side in advance that it does not expect much from them.

The newspaper `Al-Akhbar' does not expect much from the Washington meetings. It stresses that these meetings will have no valuable results in the light of Netanyahu's aggressive and expansionist goals that reject the bases of a just and comprehensive peace, and in the light of the USA's negative stance and its complete surrender to the pressure of the Jewish lobby.

In an editorial, `Al-Akhbar's' Chief Editor Jalal Duwaydar refers to the current contradiction and fraudulence in international dealings.

He asks: Is it not laughable that the United States has rolled up its sleeves, screaming and deploying its ships and planes to threaten and intimidate lesser aggressive and criminal countries, while it has done nothing to restrain the Israeli government, whose actions speak for themselves, and compel it to accept international resolutions ...

Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in Arabic 0705 gmt 21 Jan 98

Syrian press says ball in Israel's court

Text of report by Syrian radio on 21st January

Yasir Arafat: President Clinton had hoped to present him with Israeli proposals

An article entitled: What Happens After the Washington Meeting? in the newspaper `Al-Ba'th' addresses the prospects of the peace process following the US president's meeting with the Israeli prime minister.

It notes that Netanyahu remarked that he and President Clinton failed to arrive at any conclusion. `Al-Ba'th' maintains that the forthcoming stage will open the doors to important international roles, which, in the past, tried to prove their effectiveness in terms of setting the peace process in motion.

It says that these roles do not clash with the US role; rather, they are based on cooperation with the United Nations. It notes that the objective of a just and comprehensive peace is the most salient of all.

`Al-Ba'th' notes that new information has leaked about Netanyahu's visit to Washington - information that highlights the broad lines of US foreign policy in the near future.

It concludes its editorial by saying: What is urgently needed in the near future is a warming up of peace efforts by opening the door wide to European and other roles in order to attain the justice and right sought by the world.

`Tishrin' newspaper's editorial, headlined: The Ball Is In Israel's Court, touches on the same subject.

It asserts that all indications show that Netanyahu will persist in his obduracy in the peace process and its obligations.

It says the peace process can be salvaged only through a firm and conclusive stance towards Israel, which is responsible for exposing the peace process to setbacks and regression ever since the rise of the Netanyahu government to power.

`Tishrin' says that Netanyahu has not only torpedoed and destroyed the peace process, but he has placed a serious and heavy burden on the United States, given that it is the author of the land-for-peace principle and a sponsor of the peace process.

It says it is time all sides revised their positions on the Israeli policy, security pretexts, alleged security interests, and giving security precedence over peace.

It blames Israel for throwing the peace process into the unknown. If the peace process is to return to its normal and real path, then the ball is in the Israeli court.

Netanyahu must subscribe to the land-for-peace principle and international legitimacy.

Source: Syrian Arab Republic Radio, Damascus, in Arabic 0540 gmt 21 Jan 98

BBC Monitoring(http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
 

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