Word: arafats
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...morning, Clinton climbed from his helicopter and told aides, "It's now or never." With agreement on the land-for-security swap in hand, the emotional issues of returning Palestinian prisoners and revising the P.L.O. charter calling for Israel's destruction became the focus. At the end of lunch, Arafat and Netanyahu sat down without Clinton and slogged through details for two hours. When they got testy, Clinton stepped back...
...they got back to work. No one slept. The Israelis agreed to a phased release of some Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinians agreed to rethink the language of their charter but couldn't see a way to amend it. Once before, Arafat had summoned the Palestine National Council, many of whose members loathe the peace process, to change the charter. Reconvening them would be an embarrassment--and a danger. Clinton suggested a way out: he would fly to Gaza to speak to the council when it met. At dawn Friday, Arafat, Netanyahu and Clinton shook on a deal...
...there were surprising hints of new life in the peace process. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition partners are outraged at the deal but have nowhere else to go. The Prime Minister seemed to be grasping for a big chunk of the center, whose support depends on continued progress with Arafat. Another factor, the Americans at Wye observed, was how well the next generation of Israeli and Palestinian officials got along. While the leaders sometimes screamed and raged, the younger ones, who know one another from joint service on technical committees, called one another by their first names, joked around...
...Arafat seemed to hear the passionate appeal of Natan Sharansky, former Soviet prisoner of conscience, now Trade and Industry Minister, for "a public effort to recognize our needs." At the White House ceremony, the P.L.O. leader offered a new empathy for Israelis: "We are fully committed to whatever is required from us to achieve real security and constant peace for every Israeli person and for the Israeli people...I will do everything I can so that no Israeli mother will be worried if her son or daughter is late coming home...
...officials from both sides to share intelligence on terrorists. Tenet has since flown four times to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and the CIA has set up a satellite office in the Gaza Strip, along with "operations rooms" in Jericho, Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus, to help in communications with Arafat's agents...