ARABS-ISRAEL - July 28 - 'Palestinian Unilateral Independence Would Be Mistake'.

US Pres. Clinton says the Palestinians will be making a "big mistake" if they declare independence unilaterally, as they have said they are ready to do if there is no peace accord by mid-September. In an Israeli TV interview, Clinton praises PM Barak at a time when the prime minister is facing a tough political challenge from rivals who have criticised his peacemaking. Clinton says Barak was "more creative and more courageous" than Palestinian leader Arafat, yet "in no way ever compromised the vital interests of the security of Israel". Clinton also says that in light of recent events, he was reviewing whether to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, something he says he has always wanted to do but avoided for fear of derailing the peace process. (Israel has long wanted such a move, while the Palestinians oppose it. Clinton's comments are likely to be seen as a reward for Barak.)

On the Palestinians, Clinton says he thinks "it would be a big mistake to take a unilateral action and walk away from the peace process, and if it happens there will inevitably be consequences not just here but throughout the world". (Arafat and others have said that the Palestinians are ready to declare a state on Sept. 13, which is the deadline for a final peace accord, if no deal is reached by then. However, in a joint statement at the end of Camp David, the Israelis and Palestinians said they recognised the importance of "avoiding unilateral actions that prejudge the outcome of negotiations". Since Arafat's return from the summit, he has not directly answered questions about the Sept. 13 deadline.)

Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian minister of planning and international cooperation and a Camp David negotiator, says Clinton was being "unfair". Shaath says: "He should be worried about [Israeli] settlement activities instead", adding: "I would like to see Mr. Clinton remain a warrior for peace, the knight in shining armour he was at Camp David". Clinton's comments are applauded by Uri Savir, an Israeli legislator who negotiated the 1993 Oslo interim accords. Savir says: "I think the president is absolutely right, because the whole purpose behind the Oslo process was to develop a process where the interests of both sides are decided in common", adding: "It will make an enormous difference if a Palestinian state is born in peace or in conflict". Clinton did not say explicitly whether he would support an initiative in Congress, supported by his wife, Hillary Clinton, to cut off aid to the Palestinians if they make the unilateral declaration. (Israel has said that if the Palestinians declare independence unilaterally, it might also take action, such as annexing territory or extending Israeli law to the Jordan Valley.) Barak tells reporters: "Unilateral acts are not the way to make progress in the ME". He says: "Both sides are committed to dealing with disputes through negotiations. I hope and wish that the Palestinians will not decide to take unilateral actions and if they do so we will respond".

Clinton also says that if Israel and the Palestinians achieve a peace treaty, he will try to persuade Congress to grant Israel "the maximum amount of [financial] support" for its security needs and other costs arising out of the Israeli handover of territories to the Palestinians. He says: "If there is an agreement Israel will have further security needs. There will be human costs involved". He says there will also have to be an international fund to rehabilitate or compensate the Palestinian refugees. Clinton discloses that at the Camp David summit, the Palestinians supported Israeli demands for compensation for Jews who had to flee from Arab countries as a result of the Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Arafat, meanwhile, calls on Israelis to support Barak, who faces a no-confidence vote on July 31 that could bring down his government. (It is the 1st time Arafat had ever made such a comment on Israeli domestic politics.) Arafat says: "We are bound together in a peace accord and your choice of Barak was a vote of support for peace, which needs once again a strong push from you so that we can establish peace in the land of peace, in the sacred land, in Palestine and the ME".