•

The World

Trip Puts Bibi
On Collision Course

"If both sides say 'no,' the admin-
istration will consider the peace
process to have reached a dead end,"
pecial Mideast envoy Dennis said Henry Siegman, director of
the Mideast program of the Council
Ross was due back in the
on Foreign Relations. "But if Israel
Middle East to "finalize
says no and the Palestinians accept
U.S. ideas to restart the
the plan, the administration will
peace talks" — diplo-speak from the
then say that they've reached the
\J State Department that may signal
point where the process can't move
that all the recent efforts by the
forward because one side is making
Netanyahu government to prevent
it impossible. Clearly Netanyahu has
the administration from going public
reason to think that's where things
with its January "bridging proposals"
are heading,
for the stalled
Photo by AP/Eyal Warshaysky
because he's been
Israeli-Palestinian
working feverish-
talks may have been
ly to make it dif-
in vain.
ficult for the
Earlier, Prime
\._
administration to
7-- Minister Binyamin
do it."
Netanyahu and his
The big ques-
Cabinet seemed to
tion,
observers
reject out of hand
here say, is
the widely reported
whether the
administration pro-
administration,
posals, which
beset with prob-
include a phased 13
lems at home and
percent Israeli with-
crises abroad, will
drawal from West
follow through
Bank land coupled
with
its threat to
to significant
go
public
if Ross
improvements in
Dennis Ross will
fails to sway
Palestinian security
try to restart peace talks.
Netanyahu.
performance. At
Critics say that
Sunday's Israeli
the administration is deliberately
Cabinet meeting, the plan was
threatening U.S.-Israel relations in
labeled "unacceptable," and
an effort to force unilateral Israeli
Netanyahu told reporters it would
concessions.
• compromise Israel's security.
"Their plan is to squeeze Israel,"
Some
Israeli
columnists
called
that
/---'
said Douglas Feith, a national securi-
a deliberate provocation, and pre-
ty staffer during the Reagan adminis-
dicted a major new crisis in U.S.-
tration and a persistent critic of the
Israeli relations.
Clinton Mideast effort. "They seem
The hard-line reaction in
to think you can't hold the
Jerusalem came after weeks of vigor-
Palestinian Authority responsible for
ous Israeli lobbying against any pub-
their violations; the way to deal with
lic airing of the plan, and two urgent
them is to have the Israelis make
1 ) calls from Netanyahu to President
even more concessions, and hope
Clinton over the weekend asking
that those concessions encourage
that the proposals remain secret.
good behavior by the PA."
Israel reportedly is willing to give
He also said that the White House
up only 9.5 percent of the West
may be hoping that the pressure will
Bank in the next redeployment; the
weaken Mr. Netanyahu "and increase
Palestinians want 30 percent, which
the chances of bringing in a Labor
the administration sees as unrealistic.
government again."
After Ross' mission, sources here say,
But Ross, in a speech before the
the administration will assess the reac-
United Jewish Appeal young leader-
tions of the Israelis and Palestinians.
ship conference on Monday, was
• The assumption is that the Israelis will
conciliatory. He insisted that
reject the proposals, while the
Washington will not impose its own
Palestinians — under strong pressure
plan on the Israelis and Palestinians,
from Washington — will accept.
but that both sides need to do more
Then, the administration will
decide whether to publish its propos- to end what he called a "crisis of
confidence."
als and go forward with a public
He added that "there are no
assessment of blame for the stalled
imposed solutions ... any agreement
negotiations.

JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent

S

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