Intense Talks Continue in Camp David as Clock Ticks DownIntense negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians continued at Camp David in search of an agreement on final status issues as clock ticks down on a make-or-break day Tuesday."The pace has picked up over the last few days, there are intense negotiations going on now," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters on Tuesday. As if there was a crisis in the talks, the spokesman said:"I wouldn't use that phrase." "There are obviously very difficult issues in front of them but the parties are continuing to work at them," he added. Lockhart said President Bill Clinton still planned to leave for Japan Wednesday morning for a summit of industrialized nations. Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian sources in touch with their delegation at Camp David said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had been about to call U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report the failure of the three-summit when he was invited to a last-ditch meeting with Clinton. It was also widely reported earlier that the talks at Camp David had actually come to an impasse over the status of Jerusalem. The U.S. hosts expect that the Israelis and Palestinians can strike a deal to settle their 52-year conflict before Clinton's departure for Japan Wednesday morning. |
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