Word: arafats
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Once Arafat and Netanyahu were in Washington, the Americans began consulting with them on areas where they might be prepared to make progress, soundings that normally would have been done in advance. Late Monday night at the White House, Clinton sat down with Jordan's King Hussein. They talked about Arafat and Netanyahu and how to move forward on any of the issues. And what did they think about Israel's Prime Minister? Says a senior U.S. official: "Netanyahu is a complex personality. He makes a very favorable first impression. You see from some of the things being said...
...Tuesday Clinton met privately with Netanyahu for 45 minutes and for 30 with Arafat. Then everyone got together in the Oval Office for 45 minutes, a session that American officials described as "quite tense" but also "pivotal." King Hussein expressed disappointment that Netanyahu had not lived up to commitments he had inherited. Netanyahu responded in a very personal way, saying, "We are all fathers of young children. We have hopes for them and for ourselves." And directly to Arafat: "Mr. Chairman, you are a friend and a partner. We have to succeed with...
Americans who were present thought this was a "psychological point of departure" for Netanyahu, who had always despised Arafat as a terrorist. A senior U.S. official took it as "a recognition that the Israelis can't weaken Arafat because it will weaken themselves." By prearrangement Clinton and King Hussein left Arafat and Netanyahu alone at the lunch table, where they talked for three hours. In such private moments the two talked not only about their disagreements but also about themselves. At one point Netanyahu told Arafat he had never lost one of his debates as a high school student...
...outrageous proposals on the table," says a U.S. official. "They were not negotiating in good faith." Among the outrageous points was a call for the Palestinians to hand over for trial members of their security forces who fired at Israelis during the rioting. Netanyahu told TIME later that Arafat had insisted that the Palestinian policemen who opened fire were acting against his orders. Then they should be investigated, Netanyahu countered. Says Netanyahu: "Arafat said he would take disciplinary action against those offenders...
After the Blair House confrontation, the summit was on the edge of disaster. On Wednesday morning Arafat phoned Christopher and threatened to leave Washington. "We were nowhere," says an Administration official. "In fact, we were worse off than when they arrived." Christopher summoned senior Israeli and Palestinian ministers and negotiators to his office in Foggy Bottom. "We've just got to create something," he told them. After three hours, they stitched together the agreement that Clinton announced at his news conference that afternoon: a renunciation of violence and an agreement to open-ended negotiations on easing the Israeli presence...