Middle East/North Africa
Israel-Palestinians
Threat: Breakdown of ihe peace process
Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat lashed out this week at Israeli Prime Minister Barak, denouncing him as the leader of "hardliners and settlers" and claiming that hopes for progress in the peace process hadrafat's remarks follow Barak's recent reiteration of his negotiating "red lines" (no return to7nited Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, no foreign army positioned west of the River Jordan, most of tbe West Bank settlers to remain in settlement blocs under Israeli sovereignty, and settling the Palestinian refugee problem outside of Israel'shich the Palestinians sec as foreclosing any negotiation of their core concerns. The timing of Arafat's attack, just before Barak and be were to meet individually with President Clinton, suggests that Arafat is again trying toense of crisis todraw the US into tbe negotiations and so induce Israeli flexibility.^
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