Israel Agrees to Resume Peace Talks With Palestinians Soon: RadioIsraeli peace cabinet decided on Wednesday night to resume peace talks with the Palestinians within the next few days on condition that there is a significant drop in the level of violence, Israel Radio reported.A meeting held by the peace cabinet following a phone conversation between Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak and US President Bill Clinton also decided that Barak will phone Clinton later Wednesday night to inform the American president of the decision. Earlier in the day, Clinton held a 20-minute conversation with Barak over the phone and updated the Israeli leader on his talks with Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in Washington on Tuesday night. Arafat has reportedly given his conditional acceptance of Clinton's peace proposal as a basis for a negotiated settlement with Israel during his two rounds of talks with Clinton. In his phone conversation with Barak, Clinton asked the Israeli prime minister to agree to resume negotiations with the Palestinians by the end of the week or early next week. Barak said Arafat's conditional acceptance of Clinton's peace proposal was not enough to constitute a basis for the resumption of the peace talks considering the continued clashes between the two sides. |
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