A night of clashes during which a Palestinian was killed deepened scepticism today among Israelis and Palestinians that a peace deal could be reached before US President Bill Clinton leaves office.
The Israeli army said troops shot a Palestinian dead near the Erez Crossing on the Israel-Gaza border as he was trying to cross a security fence to attack an army post.
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| Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak |
The death, the first in three days, brought the toll from 14 weeks of violence to at least 300 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs and 43 other Israelis killed.
The violence cast a cloud over Washington's efforts to inject new momentum into its bid to broker a historic peace treaty before Mr Clinton steps down on January 20th.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's envoy, Mr Gilead Sher, said after talks with US officials in Washington that he did not expect Mr Clinton to break the deadlock in the 15 days left of his presidency.
The pessimism was echoed by Palestinian negotiators who said disputes on the fate of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements and borders were too complicated to resolve in the short space of time left.
Opinion polls in Israeli newspapers today indicated that, should President Clinton fail in his bid for a deal, Palestinians would probably have to contend with a hardline Israeli government in future negotiations.
Mr Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian cabinet minister and senior negotiator, said the best he hoped for was for President Clinton to put the talks back on track so his successor, Mr George W. Bush, would not inherit destroyed or explosive political conditions.
Reuters