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Netanyahu joins Israeli-PLO talks; Hebron deal may be near
December 23, 1996
Web posted at: 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT)
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Palestinian and Israeli negotiators Monday afternoon as reports circulated that a deal on the troublesome issue of Israeli troops in Hebron could be close.
The meeting "was held in a very positive atmosphere" and "showed promise of advancement," the prime minister said in a statement released after the meeting.
Palestinian officials reported unexpected progress Monday in the talks on the long-delayed pullout of Israeli troops from the West Bank town but said that some issues would have be resolved by higher-level negotiations. One senior Palestinian official said both sides had been ordered to finish their work by Monday evening.
David Bar-Illan, Netanyahu's communications director, said that a meeting between Netanyahu and PLO leader Yasser Arafat would be scheduled "if progress is sufficient."
"Whether or not it will be today or in the next couple of days remains to be seen," Bar-Illan said.
"If the Israeli side accepts and the committees finish their work today, this will open the door to a meeting between President Arafat and Netanyahu to resolve the remaining problems," said Arafat spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah.
Reports of a breakthrough surfaced two days after U.S. envoy Dennis Ross returned to the Middle East saying he hoped to revitalize the sagging talks. At the end of the overnight negotiating session, Ross flew to Cairo to brief Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on the status of the talks.
"There is still work to be done, but I think there is a new energy in the negotiations," he said following the meeting and before he headed back to Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu. "I am hopeful progress can be made." .
Moussa met with Palestinian negotiators Hassan Asfour and Marwan Kanafani earlier on Monday.
Jerusalem Bureau Chief Walter Rodgers and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Netanyahu joins Israeli-PLO talks; Hebron deal may be near - December 23, 1996
- U.S. mediator tries to break Mideast deadlock - December 21, 1996
- As Hebron talks languish, delay may benefit Arafat - December 18,1996
- Clinton pressing for West Bank agreement - December 16,1996
- Amid tensions, Arafat telephones Netanyahu - December 15,1996
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