President Clinton threw his political weight behind the floundering Middle East peace process this week, urging a summit of leaders from the region to push a head with their efforts.
Joined by Vice President Al Gore, Clinton urged Israel and its peace partners not to “let people believe that they can disrupt the rational, humane, decent course of history by terror.”
Sunday’s one-day summit here included Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa, Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Karim Kabariti and Nabil Sha’ath, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of planning.
The summit concluded with a joint communique that pledged a “strong commitment to honoring those agreements already concluded” and “to accelerate negotiations on all tracks.”
Secretary of State Warren Christopher and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake also attended the sessions, as did Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Posuvalyuk, about 50 Israeli and Arab diplomats, and American officials.
The summit was the latest in a series of high-level meetings among regional leaders in recent weeks to jump-start the stalled talks, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian front.
The talks here came at a particularly fragile point in the peace process.
On the Israeli-Palestinian track, negotiations have stalled in the wake of terrorist attacks against Israelis. Israel’s decision to close off the territories, preventing the entry of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers, has prompted protests from the Palestinians, who say the move only fuels those opposed to peace.
The Israeli Cabinet decided Sunday to extend the 3-week-old closure of Gaza. The closure is supported by nearly 80 percent of the Israeli public, according to a recent poll.
Relations with Egypt have also been strained in recent weeks, with Egypt threatening to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty unless Israel signs the global pact.
Prior to the full summit Sunday afternoon, Israel, Egypt and the United States met privately. Israel reaffirmed its pledge not to sign the treaty, Peres told reporters Sunday afternoon.
“Parties shall pursue a mutually verifiable Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction,” according to the joint communique issued by the parties.
In his meeting with the Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian leaders, Clinton called for cooperation to bring the economic benefits of peace of the Middle East.
As an example of American support, Clinton told the parties that he would ask Congress to allow into the United States duty-free imports from proposed economic free-trade zones in Jordan and Egypt as well as from Palestinian- controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
“In the end the economic and political cooperation among all of you will be the most important thing in reaping economic progress,” Clinton said.
In a separate meeting with Christopher, the Israelis and Palestinians agreed to build six industrial parks on the borders between the territories and Israel, Peres told reporters.
Peres said such U.S. — supported economic developments were much appreciated.
When asked whether these industrial parks negated the notion of a separation between Israel and the Palestinians, Peres said, “You can separate people, but not economies.”
“We are at a critical moment in the peace process,” Clinton told the gathered parties. He pledged to “redouble our efforts to get the peace process back in full gear.”
Clinton called on the parties to work out their security differences in order to move the process forward.
“Even though we must have enhanced security to create enhanced economic benefits, it is obvious that our attempt to do that is impaired when the movement of goods is limited by boycott, by closure or by any other action,” Clinton said.
During his speech to the parties gathered around a table in the Garden Room of the Blair House, the presidential guest quarters across from the White House, Clinton thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for convening the Cairo summit earlier this month.
Clinton quoted Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat’s statement last week that the parties should not let terror “destroy the Palestinian dream.”
Clinton also reaffirmed American support for the Declaration of Principles and called on Israel and the Palestinians to “complete phase two” of the agreement, which calls for Israel to withdraw from heavily populated Palestinian areas in the West bank in advance of Palestinian elections.
Clinton also said he wished that representatives of Syria and Lebanon were “at this table.”
“Our work will never be completed until we are all around the table as partners working for peace,” he said.
His words came as Syrian and Lebanese officials were reportedly meeting in Damascus to declare that peace in the region would not be possible without them.
Clinton said he is “absolutely convinced that we have to move as quickly as we can to see economic benefits peace.”
“We all have to do this together,” the president said.
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