MESSAGE BOARD: Mideast peace

July 1, 1999
Web posted at: 5:31 p.m. EDT (2131 GMT)

In this story: Clinton: 'Chance to move peace process forward' RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON -- Calling the formation of a new government in Israel an "opportunity that should not be missed," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered to act as a go-between in negotiations between Israel, the Palestinians and the nations of Lebanon and Syria.

Speaking in Washington after meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton on Thursday, Mubarak said he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak once Barak takes office, as well as Syrian President Hafez Assad and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He gave no timetable for those discussions.

"We remain most willing and determined to do all we can," said Mubarak, who added that he was confident Barak would carry out promises made to the Arabs and that peace accords could be concluded within a year.

Mubarak has been trying to convene an Arab summit to formulate a united strategy for talks with Israel -- an effort to produce a comprehensive Middle East peace deal that would settle not only Palestinian territorial claims but also disputes over Israel's occupations of southern Lebanon and Syria's Golan Heights.

Mubarak has expressed optimism that Barak's new coalition government, set to be unveiled next week, will be more willing to negotiate with Arabs than was the government of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Clinton: 'Chance to move peace process forward'

Egyptian President Mubarak offered to act as a go-between in negotiations between Israel, the Palestinians and the nations of Lebanon and Syria

For his part, Clinton said Thursday that he, too, hopes to meet with Barak in Washington soon after the new Israeli leader takes power, laying out his own ideas for advancing the peace process.

"We now have a real chance to move the peace process forward in the Middle East," Clinton said.

Clinton called on the Israelis to implement agreements they have already reached with the Palestinian Authority. He also said Israel's new settlements in the West Bank were provocative and that Israel's best chance for security was to conclude agreements with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians.

While Clinton said it was up to the parties involved to decide on terms for peace settlements, he once again backed the "aspirations" of Palestinians to shape their future on their own land.

"I would like it if the Palestinian people were free and felt free to live wherever they like," Clinton said, echoing comments he made last year in Gaza that could possibly signal U.S. support for establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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