Albright seeks peace summit

Madeleine Albright's visit comes at a crucial time for the peace process

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright held late-night talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as part of the push for a final peace deal between the Jewish state and the Palestinians.

US officials described the two-hour meeting in Jerusalem as "a thorough and useful discussion of the issues".

Mrs Albright is trying to arrange an Israeli-Palestinian summit in the United States to pave the way for the signing of a framework peace deal.

She is due to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday.

The BBC Jerusalem correspondent says time is running out for reaching an agreement as Mr Arafat has pledged to declare an independent Palestinian state in September, with or without Israel's consent.

Deadlock

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators have been trying for months to work towards a deal, but have repeatedly missed deadlines.

Mr Barak, whose government only just survived a coalition crisis last week, is under pressure from some of his coalition partners to not to make concessions to the Palestinians.

The White House said President Clinton would hold a news conference on Wednesday after Mrs Albright's meetings are finished, prompting speculation that a summit announcement could be in the works.

Officials in Washington believe that a summit is the way to get the sides to reach a major agreement and avert a political crisis in September.

Over recent weeks, there have been numerous leaks of alleged plans for a framework peace deal and there are signs that both sides are hardening their position ahead of a possible summit.

Yasser Arafat appears more determined than ever not to abandon his own claims to the West Bank and sovereignty over Jerusalem.

As tensions mount in the run-up to the September deadline, the Israeli security forces have started preparing for a possible outbreak of Palestinian violence, in case the negotiations fail.

Fragile coalition

The Israeli prime minister is under pressure from the settlers, as well as members of his own coalition, to take a tough line in the peace talks.

Mr Barak on Tuesday summoned the heads of his coalition partners for an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss Israel's negotiating position with the Palestinians ahead of Mrs Albright's visit.

Two right-wing coalition partners, the National Religious Party (NRP) and the Russian immigrant party, Israel B'Alia, threatened to leave the coalition if Mr Barak fails to clarify the extent to which he is willing to make concessions towards the Palestinians.

The NRP appears to oppose the very idea of a summit with the Palestinians, regardless of what it might agree.

"The chances of our staying in the coalition if there is a summit are slim... the NRP will not be able to stay if there is a summit," Yitzhak Levy, a party official, told Israeli Radio.

"If the guidelines for the summit are not co-ordinated with us, we will quit," Mr Levy said.