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Camp David Mideast Summit Continues without President Clinton

Aired July 20, 2000 - 6:00 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: It is early evening at Camp David, Maryland, and the workday continues. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is now shepherding the talks. She has met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

CNN's Andrea Koppel has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The challenge now for Secretary Albright: to try to narrow differences over the key sticking point, Jerusalem.

JOE LOCKHART, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is very, very tough. And when you come to addressing these issues, it's very intense.

KOPPEL: Narrowly averting a Mideast summit breakdown, President Clinton set off for another summit in Japan, leaving Albright to keep the Camp David peace talks going.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The short answer to why we're still here after everybody thought we were through is that nobody wanted to give up.

KOPPEL: But Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak didn't want to give in either. Last-minute shuttling by the U.S. president with new ideas on how the Israelis and Palestinians might share Jerusalem could not break the age-old deadlock.

MIGUEL MORATINOS, EUROPEAN UNION MIDEAST REP.: There is many (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I mean, there has been some discussion on (UNINTELLIGIBLE), on civil control, the holy places, the Arab quarters, civilian arrangement, municipaliticial governments, so all together can be a good package.

KOPPEL: And while the negotiations at Camp David continue, the Israelis say it will take more than a few extra days to bridge what they say are very wide gaps.

GADI BALTIANSKY, EHUD BARAK SPOKESMAN: We believe that the Palestinians and the leadership should take the necessary decisions in order to try and reach a compromise that is so needed for both peoples.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think the likely result here is -- if an agreement is reached -- that some progress will be made on the other issues -- borders, refugees, land, water -- but no permanent solution is in sight on Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: The White House says President Clinton will reassess whether this summit should continue when he returns a few days from now. We must all be prepared to go the extra mile, Mr. Clinton said, but it remains to be seen, Judy, whether the parties, and just how far the parties are prepared to go -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Andrea, if they couldn't reach agreement with the president there, why do they believe they can do it when he is not there?

KOPPEL: Well, they're not necessarily saying that. They're saying that they're prepared to continue talking. And that's really why Secretary Albright is here. She is, after all, the president's most senior foreign policy adviser. And the parties know her well. And because the president did have this commitment to go to the G8 summit -- and clearly the parties did want to continue talking -- it made sense that Secretary Albright should stay here almost as a stopgap measure -- try to continue to narrow differences.

But whether or not there would be a breakthrough, nobody expects that while Secretary Albright is here. If there's going to be a breakthrough, Judy, it would take place after President Clinton returns -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, CNN's Andrea Koppel at Camp David, thanks.

The emotional issue of Jerusalem is the main obstacle at the peace talks. But as CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief, Mike Hanna, reports, some residents feel the city can be shared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The ordinary hustle and bustle outside the walls of the old city, but the residents of Jerusalem are following closely the extraordinary events far away at Camp David; a full awareness that it's the future of their city the politicians are debating, an awareness, too, of Jerusalem's unique nature.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a very sensitive place, because of the religious, the faith.

HANNA: But while talk about division of Jerusalem raises passions on both sides, there is a surprising degree of agreement on the idea of sharing the city.

EPHRAIM SNEH, ISRAELI DEP. DEFENSE MINISTER: As you know, the most emotionally-loaded issue is Jerusalem. And Jerusalem -- the wisdom and the responsibility drive us to share Jerusalem, not to redivide Jerusalem.

ZIAD ABU ZIYYAD, PALESTINIAN CABINET MINISTER: This is actually what we want. We want to share Jerusalem. We want to share Jerusalem physically and politically. We are against dividing Jerusalem into two cities. We are against a wall crossing Jerusalem. We want Jerusalem to be an open city.

HANNA: Sentiments apparently shared by many in the city's Israeli West and Palestinian East.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope it's possible to share. I think like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really hope that the Palestinians would let us visit the eastern part of Jerusalem, but, if not, at least we'll have the peace, hopefully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security to Israel is very important. We believe in that. But, in other hand, we want our rights and our lands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the fact that they're talking is a miracle. That might take another 10 years, but at least they're talking about it.

HANNA: Jerusalem was not discussed at the first Camp David summit 22 years ago. It was not discussed when the Oslo agreements were signed in 1993.

(on camera): And lurking beneath the fear and anger that debates about Jerusalem provokes, there is a discernible glimmer of relief that, after all these years, it is finally a matter for discussion.

Mike Hanna, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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