Nightline: Daily E-mail (1/3)

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 3 -- At 12:30 a.m., when the last remaining Nightline staffers dragged themselves out of the office, the belief here was that President Clinton’s meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had not gone well.

We had gotten word late in the evening that their nearly hourlong tete-a-tete at the White House, their second of the day, had broken up without any photo opportunity for the press. We all took that as a very bad sign. Arafat would fly to Cairo for the Arab Summit, and Clinton’s hopes of brokering a Middle East peace deal before his presidency ends later this month were lost. Or so we thought.

But when the subject is the fragile Israeli and Palestinian relationship, the usual signs and predictions do not apply.

By 4:30 a.m., ABCNEWS staffers in Israel were hearing that there might be some hope for further talks. By the time we arrived at the office this morning, it was being reported in many news outlets that Arafat had accepted the broad terms of Clinton’s plan as the basis for further negotiations, but with several reservations about the details.

Of course, on this subject more than most others, the devil is in the details. But it does seem that Arafat is keeping the door open, and has now put the political ball back in the Israeli camp.

The next few hours should be interesting. Will Arafat make any public statements? Will the politically embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak speak publicly? How will the Palestinian and Israeli public react to these latest reports? The issues on the negotiating table — the right of return of Palestinian refugees, control over holy sites in the heart of Jerusalem, and many other complicated matters of security and independence — remain among Arafat’s reservations. But if Arafat is willing to talk … and Barak is willing to talk … there is hope, at least, for peace.

Ted Koppel is back from a holiday break and will anchor the broadcast this evening. John Donvan will report tonight on the latest news on the Middle East situation. At this hour, that’s all we know. As you can see — it can all change very quickly on this story.