M.E. hopes revive

Press, 18 April 1980, Page 6

M.E. hopes revive

NZPA-Reuter Washington i Talks between President Carter and the Israeli Prime , Minister (Mr Menachem . Begin) have revived Ameri- ( can hopes for an early agreement on giving self- ■ rule to the Palestinians on . the West Bank and Gaza. Both leaders told of pro- • gress when they spoke with ‘ reporters after six hours of , talks, although the only spe- , cific agreement they announced was on holding an intensive round of negotia- '• tions between Israel and • Egypt' starting late this j month ; However, senior American ’ officials said later that the 1 Carter-Begin talks, following < the American leader’s separate meetings last week with ■ the Egyptian President (Mr i Anwar Sadat) had resusci- 1 tated the self-rule negotia- 1 tions and made their con- < elusion by the May 26 target date a realistic possibility. ; American officials said the . restatement of the political < commitment by all sides to 1 achieving agreement was an 1

important psychological boost to the negotiations. “We think we have a fighting chance to get an agreement by May 26,” one official said, summing up the views of several senior aides at the White House and State Department. Officials also conceded, as President Carter did yesterday, that there was a long way to go to reach full agreement. American officials said several key procedures were set up in the talks with Mr Begin that should help resolve substantive issues when intensified talks begin in Tel Aviv during the week of April 28. — Some issues affecting the daily lives of Palestinians, including water rights, Israeli settlements, and land title, would be held over for subsequent talks. — These would be addressed in a committee of American, Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian representatives assuming that the Palestinians, who are not

now taking part, join in subsequent negotiations. — There was tentative agreement on a formula to deal with Israel’s security concerns, an issue that Egyptians say has blocked progress on nearly everything else. Officials said they expected progress on two other key issues: voting rights for Arabs in East Jerusalem and powers of the Palestinian administrative council. They made no predictions, however, on the key question of whether the package they are trying to assemble would be sufficient to attract Palestinians to the peace process. Israel has resisted full self-rule because it fears this might lead to an independent Palestinian State which would threaten its security. Arab and other critics of the Egyptian-Israeli treaty have argued that a solution to the Palestinian problem is essential to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.