Albright to Discuss Peace, Iraq Crisis During Israel Visit

Amid the escalating crisis with Iraq, the United States is working to salvage the peace process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Edward Walker, Thursday, ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s meeting with Netanyahu on Saturday night..

Albright is also expected to meet later with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Albright’s visit, in turn, comes on the heels of separate talks President Clinton held in Washington last week with Netanyahu and Arafat.

American officials were quoted by the Israeli daily Ha’aretz as saying that while Albright is also holding talks on the Iraqi crisis with regional leaders, the focus of her talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders would be the peace process and an American package proposal regarding a further redeployment from the West Bank.

“Albright’s visit to Israel is by neither a courtesy call nor focused solely on Iraq,” a senior American official was quoted by the paper as saying. “The peace process will comprise an important part of her trip.”

A senior American source was quoted as saying that the American administration believes that a deal on the redeployment is possible.

“If there is goodwill on both sides, we do not think it will be difficult to work out the details,” the source said.

The source was optimistic that Netanyahu would agree to a U.S. proposal of a phased redeployment based on a Palestinian fulfillment of obligations.

The United States is interested in a further redeployment of about 12 percent. Israel has refrained from specifying the extent of the redeployment, though prior to Netanyahu’s talks in Washington, Cabinet ministers estimated it would not exceed 10 percent. The Palestinians have demanded up to 30 percent of the West Bank in this redeployment.

Palestinian officials said this week that in his discussions with Clinton, Arafat declared that he would resign rather than capitulate to American pressure and agree to the Israeli proposals regarding the West Bank pullback. Arafat told the Palestinian Authority that Clinton twice tried to get him to agree to smaller Israeli troop redeployments in the West Bank during their discussions.

Israel denied this week reports that the United States had asked it to keep a low profile in the Iraqi crisis. Israel’s defense minister, Yitzhak Mordechai, said Israel would be ready to act, if necessary.

Israel’s president, Ezer Weizman, said Thursday he was not too concerned about an Iraqi missile attack. Speaking during a visit to an Arab village to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Weizman said the Iraqis were aware that the “route a missile takes from Iraq is not one-way.”