‘Parties agree to resume trilateral meetings’ 

Jerusalem, Aug. 11: US envoy Dennis Ross has brought about the first meeting between Israeli officials and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat since an Islamic militant bombing deepened the crisis in West Asia peace efforts last month.  

But Israel has reiterated that it will only be satisfied if it sees concrete results to its demand that Mr. Arafat cracks down on militants. Mr. Arafat met Israeli government officials on Sunday for the first time since 15 people, including the attackers, died in the July 30 bombing of an Israeli market, a PLO official said.  

The official said Mr. Ross brought Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molho and Shin Bet secret police chief Ami Avalon with him to a meeting with Mr. Arafat in the West Bank Palestinian enclave of Ramallah. He said a third Israeli was with the group but he did not have his name.  

At the end of the Ramallah meeting, the second between Mr. Ross and Mr. Arafat on Sunday, another PLO official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The parties have agreed to resume trilateral security meetings. Another trilateral meeting will be held on Tuesday. They discussed the basis on which these meetings would be carried out. These meetings would pave the way for the political meetings,” he said.  

Mr. Ross said his orders from President Bill Clinton were to restore the “security underpinning” of the peace process and resume security cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian forces. The emphasis on security initially prompted protests from the Palestinians, who feared their concerns would be ignored. But Mr. Ross appeared to mollify Mr. Arafat by telling him that restored security cooperation would be followed by a far-reaching political initiative by US secretary of state Madeleine Albright.  

“The political issues that divide the parties are going to have to be addressed and resolved,” Mr. Ross reassured Mr. Arafat.  

Mr. Arafat rejected Israeli claims that his police force was not helping search for those responsible for the double suicide bombing.  

Mr. Ross’s delegation travelled to Ramallah from Jerusalem where Mr. Ross had just ended his second meeting of the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Reuter, AP)