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Palestinians walk out of Middle East peace talks

October 21, 1996
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. (0100 GMT)

In this story:

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

Ross

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.

meeting

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.

Bar-Ilan

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

Netanyahu

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.

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