JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A Palestinian delegation Monday walked out
of one of two committees negotiating an Israeli troop re-deployment in the West Bank town of Hebron, deepening a sense
of crisis in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
It was not immediately clear whether the walkout constituted
a serious and permanent break from the talks on the part of
the Palestinians. The delegation has walked out several times
over the last three weeks of negotiations to consult with Palenstinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, and each time have come back to the
negotiating table.
Officials in the United States said they believed the walkout
would prove to be a minor incident. Washington has always
maintained that both sides frequently engage in public
negotiating as well as private diplomacy. Threats to walk
out or suspend talks are often seen in this light.
State Department officials said Monday night that the United
States has heard nothing from the Palestinian Authority to
suggest it has pulled out of talks over the future of Hebron.
U.S. officials also said that, during the Washington summit
last month, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu had committed to staying at the talks until the
Hebron issue was settled.
Envoy to return to Washington
The walkout came on the heels of U.S. Special Envoy Dennis
Ross' announcement that he would return to Washington.
Ross downplayed his own departure, saying, "My presence here
isn't going to determine whether you are going to have
agreements or not going to have agreements." U.S. Secretary
of State Warren Christopher said he expects Ross will return
to the region soon.
Nevertheless, both Palestinians and Israelis are saying the
talks are in more trouble than Ross will publicly concede.
Ross met earlier with Arafat, whose
negotiators blame the Israelis for the deadlock in the talks.
Palestinians fault Israel for insisting on basic changes in
the original Hebron agreement, and proposing amendments
which, according to one well-placed diplomatic source close
to the investigations, would simply not be accepted by
Arafat's constituency.
For its part, Israel says the Palestinians locked the peace
talks in neutral. "They have obviously decided that a delay
would benefit them," said David Bar-Illan, a senior adviser
to the Israeli Prime Minister.
"We suspect that perhaps it has to do with the American
elections, which they presumably feel that the Administration
will pressure Israel after the elections, when they believe
they are free of the constraints of the campaign."
Source of stalemate
Under agreements made with Palestinians before Netanyahu
assumed power, Israel was to pull its troops out of Hebron,
the last West Bank town it occupies, in March. Then-Prime
Minister Shimon Peres delayed the withdrawal after Islamic
militants carried out bombings in Israel.
Netanyahu, who defeated Peres in May, delayed the pullout
further, demanding better security for the 450 Jewish
settlers who live in the city of 94,000 Arabs.
The two sides agreed to the open-ended talks at a White House
summit earlier this month. Clinton called the summit after
an outbreak of West Bank and Gaza violence claimed more than
70 Arab and Israeli lives.
West Bank shooting
Also Monday, a Palestinian motorist was shot and killed as he
drove on a road built primarily for Jewish settlers in the
West Bank settlement of Ofra. Hospital officials and
witnesses said the attackers may have been Jewish settlers,
as they fired from a car with Israeli license plates.
Villagers in the area said another Palestinian was wounded in
similar circumstances about half an hour before the fatal
shooting. A military spokeswoman confirmed the death and said
the shooting was under investigation.
Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and
Reuters contributed to this report.