Mideast Talks Promise No Early Accord but Will Resume Soon

Israel and its Arab neighbors Thursday ended a monthlong round of talks that came closer to real peace negotiations than ever before but fell short of promising an early settlement of their 44-year-old conflict.

Still, the negotiators promised to return for more talks in just over three weeks--after taking each others’ proposals back home and testing the political reactions in Jerusalem and Damascus.

The good news in this round, the sixth in a series of meetings based on a U.S.-led peace initiative, is that Israel and Syria, long the Jewish state’s most bitter enemy, were able to talk for the first time about the dimensions of a genuine peace.

The bad news, though, was that the substantive disagreements between Israel and Syria, and between Israel and the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, remain almost as wide as ever.

The two-sided nature of the process was captured in a good-natured war of Arab proverbs between spokesmen for the delegations of Syria and Israel.

“If it will rain, it will first become cloudy,” said Syria’s Bushra Kanafani, suggesting that a peace agreement is still a long way off. “It’s not cloudy yet, so I cannot expect rain tomorrow.”

Responded Israel’s Yossi Gal: “Rain starts with drops, with sprinkles”--meaning even small signs of progress could mean major improvements to come. “It’s our belief that peace in the Middle East is becoming less a matter of contention and more a matter of time,” he added.

The U.S. official refereeing the talks, Assistant Secretary of State Edward P. Djerejian, was less flowery but not much more precise. “While there have been no so-called breakthroughs, we believe the parties have achieved a good foundation for future progress,” he told reporters.

“For the first time in 44 years, you have direct negotiations between Israel and all of its Arab . . . neighbors,” he said. “The tone is important, but these negotiations have gone well beyond tone. What we see in each one of these tracks . . . is a more meaningful engagement on the issues--these three core issues of land, peace and security.”

“Sometimes you’ll meet some blockages that need to be overcome,” he said. “But . . . the sides are engaging papers, they’re engaging ideas and they’re discussing formulations. Now that, to me, goes well beyond just a warm and fuzzy feeling.”

On issues of substance, Israel and Syria continued to disagree over the fundamental question of how to achieve peace. Syria insists on an Israeli commitment to withdraw completely from the strategic Golan Heights, seized by Israeli troops in 1967, before any improvement in their relationship. Israel wants Syria to commit itself to a full peace, including open borders and commercial trade, and has offered to withdraw step-by-step from the Golan as those facets of a peaceful relationship are achieved.

In talks with the Palestinians, Israel offered a detailed proposal for local self-government that would allow the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza Strip partial control over their own economy, education, health care, police and lower courts. But the Palestinians declared themselves unimpressed.

“The areas of agreement remain very minimal,” spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said. But she said the talks have been “very useful as an exploratory period.”

An important piece of good news, U.S. officials said, is that the negotiators agreed relatively quickly to reconvene Oct. 21 for a seventh round of talks.

The three-week break will be critical, officials said, for it will give: Palestinian negotiators a chance to consult with the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian militants in the occupied territories; Syrian officials a chance to submit thoughts to President Hafez Assad, the only significant decision-maker in Damascus, and Israel’s government a chance to work out its next steps.