1 President Clinton implored Arabs and Israelis on Sunday to go beyond rhetoric and move quickly, despite terrorism, to expand Palestinian rule on the West Bank.
2 'We are at a critical moment in the peace process,' Clinton said as he opened a meeting of foreign ministers and other representatives on the Middle East peace process. But, he said, 'We are not going to let the peace process collapse.'
3 The U.S.-sponsored session to restart the process of normalizing Arab-Israeli relations convened against a background of recent violence and new Arab pressure on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
4 Quoting Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Clinton said, 'We cannot allow (rising terrorism) to kill the Palestinian dream.'
5 Clinton sat at the head of a long, polished table in the Garden Room of Blair House, the presidential guest quarters across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
6 Attending the one-day conference were Foreign Ministers Shimon Peres of Israel, Amre Moussa of Egypt, Karim al-Kabariti of Jordan and Nabil Shaath, a senior PLO official.
7 U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher presided, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Posuvalyuk representing his government. U.S. Vice President Al Gore and national security adviser Anthony Lake also joined in the opening.
8 Talks between Israel and the PLO to expand Palestinian authority on the West Bank are at a standstill. Stung by recent terrorist attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has been reluctant to go forward and risk the displeasure of an angry Israeli public. The PLO, meanwhile, objects to Rabin's closing of the Gaza border, depriving tens of thousands of Palestinians access to jobs in Israel.
9 Clinton urged all sides to take advantage of the accords Israel has signed with Egypt, Jordan and the PLO, suggesting they set up industrial free trade zones that he pledged to support by asking Congress to remove duties on imports from them.
10 'I want to do our part,' Clinton said. 'We need to move as quickly as we can to prove there are economic benefits to peace.'
11 Despite the return of its ambassador to Washington, Syria's peace talks with Israel remained suspended. And new efforts to press Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and open its facilities to outside nuclear inspectors could also slow progress.
12 A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Friday negotiations were in 'a difficult period' and told reporters at the State Department 'don't expect the meeting to suddenly transform things.'
13 Syrian Ambassador Walid al-Moualem returned this week from Damascus after a lengthy absence, but he has not rescheduled talks with Israeli Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich that were suspended before Christmas.
14 Their quiet meetings in Washington were the only active contacts between Syria and Israel, which have been sparring for more than three years over peace terms and the future of the Golan Heights, a strategic border enclave.
15 Egypt last week lined up seven other Arab countries to back its demands for Israel to end its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It warned Cairo might otherwise refuse to approve indefinite extension of the 1970 pact when it comes up at the treaty review conference in New York in April.
16 Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel last year, held out hope for a successful ministerial meeting. 'We will try to accomplish as much as possible on security and other obstacles,' Ambassador Fayez Tarawneh said in an interview Friday. 'Jordan, with Egypt, is in a good position to mediate. We have good relations both with Israel and the PLO.'
17 On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat failed at a meeting in Gaza to resolve their differences. Arafat asked the United States to intercede.
18 Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres already had asked Christopher to return to the Middle East, and Christopher said that may happen soon.
19 Rabin told Arafat he would not discuss a troop withdrawal from West Bank towns until the PLO cracked down on Palestinian militants responsible for suicide bombings and attacks that have killed 55 Israelis since October.

Quoting Yasser Arafat , the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , Clinton said , " We cannot allow ( rising terrorism ) to kill the Palestinian dream . "
" We cannot allow ( rising
Is we, the country? What happened to allow terrorism in the first place?\n