Mideast talks to end as hopes fade

TABA, Egypt (CNN) -- Israeli-Palestinian peace talks look set to conclude within days, with hopes of an accord fading.

An Israeli election looms on February 6, and both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said it would be difficult to reach agreement before then.

"By Sunday, we will conclude the negotiations," Qureia said Saturday.

"If there is an agreement, we will declare it. If not, we will issue a communique summarizing what we did in the last round of talks in Taba ... We will continue the negotiations immediately after the elections."

In negotiations Friday, the sides failed to make a breakthrough but described discussions as "promising."

The touchiest issues, the future of Jerusalem and of Palestinian refugees, were on the table.

"We're closer to an agreement than ever," Barak said on Israel television. "We see its parameters through a partially open door.

The touchiest issues, the future of Jerusalem and of Palestinian refugees, were on the table.

"We're closer to an agreement than ever," Barak said on Israel television. "We see its parameters through a partially open door.

VIDEO CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports on sticking points in the talks (January 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Andrea Koppel reports on the history of the Mideast peace process Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    MESSAGE BOARD Mideast Peace    RESOURCES In-Depth: Israel Election 2001    TIMELINES Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:  •  Bombings  •  Activist deaths    RESOURCES Key issues: U.S., Israeli and Palestinian views    ALSO Mideast talks tackle refugees issue

"It would be good to conclude this agreement now, but apparently in eight days we cannot bridge all the remaining gaps," he said.

"Therefore, at a certain stage early next week we shall stop, wait until the elections and start immediately after them."

CNN's Jerrold Kessel said negotiators were working through meals at "full tilt" in a final push.

"The gap is closing, but so is time."

Formal negotiations at Taba, a Red Sea resort, adjourned over the Jewish Sabbath.

But the Israelis hosted Palestinians at dinner Friday night in a hotel at Eilat, an Israeli town just across the border, and the sides later had a round of informal talks, set to resume on Saturday.

The sides have been racing against time, trying to achieve at least the outline of a peace deal before Israel's ballot, in which Barak faces hardliner Ariel Sharon.

Sharon, who maintains a double-digit lead in polls, says he would not honor any agreement Barak reaches before the election.

But Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath left the door open for continuing the peace effort.

"We are keen to reach an agreement with whoever is the prime minister of Israel because ... without an agreement our people will continue to suffer," he said.

At the talks Friday, Shaath and Israeli negotiator Yossi Beilin were discussing the thorny refugee question.

The Palestinians have been demanding that all refugees from Israel's 1948 war and their descendants, about four million people, be allowed to return to Israel, but Israel has rejected that.

Other working groups were dealing with Jerusalem, borders and security matters.

Shaath said the two sides were close to a deal in which Israel would get about four percent of the West Bank and the Palestinians would receive some Israeli territory in return.

The talks had reconvened Thursday after a two-day suspension, Israel's response to the killing of two Tel Aviv restaurateurs by masked gunmen in the West Bank.

When an Israeli motorist was gunned down hours after the talks resumed, Israeli negotiators broke off a session, but Barak instructed them to resume the negotiations.

The violence continued Friday.

Palestinian medics said 49 people were injured in stone-throwing clashes with the Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Barak's office said security forces have captured six members of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's elite Force 17 unit which they blame for the shooting deaths of at least seven Israelis.

Barak said the attacks were apparently not planned by Force 17 itself but by "people from the organization."

Since violence erupted on September 28 over 400 people have been killed, the vast majority Palestinians.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mideast talks sidestep impasse; more planned
January 26, 2001
Killings overshadow Mideast talks
January 25, 2001
Barak rules out imminent peace deal
January 25, 2001

The Prime Minister's Office
Israel Defense Forces
Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian Red Crescent
Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department

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