2A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 8, 2001 NATION WORLD Clinton: Divide Israel into 2 states NEW YORK (AP) - President Clinton told the people of Israel yesterday that their land is also the Palestinians' homeland and "there is no choice but for you to divide this land into two states for two people." Clinton also urged the Palestinians in a major address to find the courage to accept his framework for a negotiated settlement and "not hold out for the impossible more." He vowed to use his remaining days in the White House to narrow differences between Israel and the Palestinians, but with less than two weeks left he made no prediction of success. SWe've got a mess on our hands," Clinton said. In a speech to the Israel Policy Forum, a think tank on the Middle East, Clinton disclosed key elements of his framework for a negotiated settlement and said it was a fair one that "responds to each side's essential needs if not to their utmost desires." He said he was sending veteran U.S. mediator Den- nis Ross to the region this week to talk to Israeli and Palestinian leaders again. Ross will seek their approval for an accord that would give the Palestinians a state with its capital in Jerusalem and give Israel a Jewish Jerusalem "that is larger and more vibrant than any seen in history" On Palestinian refugees, a key sticking point, Clin- ton appeared to hold to his position that they should have the right to return to a Palestinian homeland - not to Israel - or to help in finding new homes, whether in the Arab countries in which they now live or elsewhere. Israel cannot be expected to take in an unlimited number of refugees and thereby "undermine" its pur- pose in being, he said. The president said the incoming Bush administra- tion was not bound by his proposals. "These parame- ters originated with me and will go with me when I leave officehe said. Addressing the people of Israel before a largely .Jew- ish audience, Clinton said "you have hardly had one day of peace and quiet since your state was created." He said "your dream of a homeland has come true," but when the Jewish people returned home beginning a century ago, they found "it was not vacant. You discov- ered that your land was also their land, the homeland of two peoples." And, Clinton went on, "the hard reality is that there is no choice but for you to divide this land into two states for two people." "Whether it happens today or after more bloodshed, it will happen," he said.. Before Clinton spoke, a senior U.S. official said the administration was not optimistic of reaching a final deal before George W Bush becomes president on Jan. 20. An accord that included all the tough issues would be "a difficult undertaking," said the official, who accompanied Clinton to New York and spoke on con- dition of anonymity. "But we hope to continue to narrow the gap and move them closer together on a foundation on which they can build," the official added. As he left the White House for New York, the presi- dent responded to a shouted question about the Middle East by crossing his fingers. Ross, expected to go to the Middle East tomorrow, intends to meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to discuss "what is possible and advisableto do in the next 14 days," the official said. Clinton spoke with evident emotion. A peace agree- ment between Israel and the Palestinians has been his highest foreign policy priority. "Sometimes you just have to do the right thing," he said. "Sometimes you just have to do the rightthing. Sometimes it works out; some- times it does not." Clinton also praised Barak, whose concessions to the Palestinians has left him trailing in the polls to Ariel Sharon, the Likud party leader, who will run against him for prime minister Feb. 6. "ie has demonstrated as much bravery in the office of prime minister as he ever did on the field of battle," Clinton said in tribute to the former Israeli military chief of staff. ACROSS THE 4ATION Cole security lapses to go unpunished WASHINGTON - The admiral overseeing the investigation of the actions of the captain and crew of the USS Cole when the warship was bombed three months ago in a Yemeni harbor has concluded that no one should be pun- ished even though dozens of security lapses occurred, Pentagon officials said. Adm. Robert J. Natter rejected the conclusion of a lower-ranking investi- gating officer that some security precautions if taken could have mitigate the effects of the explosion of a small boat that killed 17 sailors and tore a 40-foot hole in the side of the destroyer as it was refueling in the port of Aden on Oct. 12. The Navy investigation found that at least 30 of 62 planned "force protection" measures weren't implemented by the Cole's crew. The investigating officer found that 20 of those omitted steps were irrelevant but concluded that at least 11 possibly could have stopped the attack or lessened its impact. Among the unexecuted steps he deemed crucial were a system of verifying the authenticity of small boats approaching the warship and having fie hoses ready to spray at boats that didn't properly identify themselves and wouldn't withdraw, one source said. Natter, the commander of the Atlantic fleet, agreed with a lower-ranking adni ral who rejected that conclusion of the investigating officer. Dems criticize attorney general choice WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic senators criticized John Ashcroft yesterday as a "divisive" pick for attorney general, previewing a bruising con- firmation hearing for President-elect Bush's most contentious Cabinet choice. At least one Democrat said he might oppose the former Missouri senator. The Judiciary Committee's top Republican defended the conservative Ashcroft's ability to impartially enforce all the nation's laws and said he would "resent" any votes against him. The committee has not scheduled a hearing, but Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democrat who is chairman until Bush takes office Jan. 20, has said he wants to begin before then and continue after inaugura- tion. Among Ashcroft's most vocal critics on yester- day's talk shows was Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who said it was "a divisive not unifying nomination" even though Bush "has specifically said he is a unifi- er, not a divider." Kerry said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Ashcroft has been "on the fringe of a number of dif- ferent issues that really challenge the ... minority community that the president-elect is going to have to bring together." Jesse Jackson and civil rights groups are mobiliz- ing against Ashcroft, who last year helped scuttle the nomination of a black Missouri Supreme Court judge, Ronnie White, to the federal bench. White President-elect George W. 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