Clinton Calls Netanyahu, Arafat To Summit

He made the announcement in a brief Rose Garden news conference, adding that Jordan's King Hussein and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have also been invited.

Clinton said the loss of life and the tragedy of the violence in the Middle East this week have been a terrible development for the Israeli and the Palestinian people, a blow to all those who have worked for a lasting peace, encouragement to those who oppose a lasting peace.

Earlier this week I called on Israelis and Palestinians to end the cycle of violence, to restore calm, to recommit themselves to the hard work of building peace through negotiations, he said.

 

I am prepared to do everything in my power to help the Israelis and the Palestinians end the violence and begin the peace process again in earnest, Clinton said.

We have to return to the path of peace along which they have already traveled so far.

However, Israel said no agreements had been reached with the Palestinians ahead of US President Bill Clinton's call yesterday for an Arab-Israeli summit in Washington early this week.

Asked if there were any understandings reached, Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh told Israel's Channel One: There are none...There is only one understanding, that we're going to Washington.

From there (Washington) the call will go out for an end to the violence and acceleration of the negotiations and the return of the sides to intensive negotiations, Naveh said.

Israel Radio said Netanyahu would leave for Washington today afternoon.

Clinton said he hoped to convene a summit between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's Arab peace partners Egypt, Jordan and Syria to salvage Middle East peace talks following violence that has claimed 69 lives.

We must return to the negotiating table. We have no intention to renegotiate Oslo. We have an interest in ensuring the Oslo agreements are honoured...so we don't return and see at any point the serious appearance of violence against us as we saw in the last few days, Naveh said.