The Palestinians reluctantly agreed to attend next week's Camp David summit because they could not refuse to do so. But senior officials are not optimistic that it will break the protracted deadlock on the major issues.
The man who negotiated the 1993 Oslo accords, Mr Ahmad Qurei, said: "There is barely a chance the summit will succeed." Mr Nabil Abu-Rudeina, a confidant of the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, accused Israel of trying to "sabotage" the negotiations by laying down "red lines" before the meeting.
Mr Abu-Rudeina referred to the pledge made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, that he would not withdraw to the 1967 line, cede East Jerusalem, permit the return of Palestinian refugees or uproot settlements. And a member of the negotiating team, Dr Nabil Sha'ath, said the Palestinians would go ahead with their plan to declare a state on September 13th whatever happens at the summit.
Dr Ghassan Khatib, a leading Palestinian commentator based in Jerusalem, claimed the purpose of the summit was to "squeeze the Palestinians". Although Mr Arafat "is desperate for progress", Dr Khatib does not believe the summit will achieve a final settlement. "It will initiate a new phase of negotiations and another summit will be called towards September 13th."
Even then, "I would be surprised if they reach a final, comprehensive settlement. But there is a big space between not reaching anything and a final settlement. They will achieve something in between".
Mrs Rawiya Shawa, an opposition member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, says
President Clinton is determined to end the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Mr Barak is "ready to go because he wants Arafat's signature" on a document, whether a framework agreement or a final accord. But "Arafat is not ready to sign" unless he gets something he can sell to his people.
