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Israel, PLO to resume talks in Washington

RAMALLAH: Israel and the PLO plan to announce on Wednesday they will resume peace talks and move negotiations to Washington in an intensive effort to reach a final deal, a Western diplomat said.

"The leaders are going to announce the resumption of talks in Washington," the diplomat said shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat were to hold their second summit in less than 24 hours.

Barak's office and Palestinian officials declined to comment on the diplomat's information.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not give a starting date for the negotiations, which broke down on February 3 because of differences over an interim transfer of 6.1 percent more West Bank land to Palestinian self-rule.

Barak and Arafat met in central Israel late on Tuesday hours after the Palestinian leader voiced his strongest commitment yet to declare an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip this year, with or without a peace deal.

Palestinian officials said Arafat and Barak had discussed moving the negotiations to Washington but the Palestinian side preferred holding the talks in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Taba.

An earlier statement by Barak's office said "some of the problems" had been solved at Tuesday's summit, but it did not elaborate.

Arafat wants the 6.1 percent interim transfer of land to include villages around Jerusalem, whose future status is one of the toughest nuts to crack in the search for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian officials say Israel has identified 10 percent of land from which they could select the 6.1 percent for the frozen handover, but that Israel had excluded areas around Jerusalem.

Israel Radio said proposals presented at the meeting reflected Barak's plan to forge a framework peace deal by May -- both sides have already missed a mid-February deadline -- and to achieve a permanent treaty by September 13.

Israeli diplomatic sources said Barak also presented a "confidence-building" package to Arafat that included a release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the opening of a northern "safe passage" between the West Bank and Gaza.

Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah said several ideas, raised by the United States and Israel, were discussed at the summit on Tuesday. He declined to say what they were.

One main stumbling block is likely to be the timing and exact scale of a third and final land handover under an interim peace deal that calls for Israel to pull out of all parts of the West Bank except for military areas and Jewish settlements.

Also looming in the future is Arafat's pledge to declare a state this year come what may.

"Whoever doesn't like it can drink the water of the Dead Sea," Arafat said in a speech on Tuesday.

Arafat bowed to strong Arab and international pressure last May not to proceed with a unilateral declaration of independence that could have influenced the outcome of Israeli elections which brought Barak to power.-Reuters