Paris Mideast Talks End WIth No Deal

P A R I S, Oct. 5, 2000 -- Reports of a tentative cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians have proven premature.

Intense talks in Paris mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have ended without an agreement — and the Israeli side is saying that it may not even be interested in continuing the discussion.

Both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were in France for the emergency talks, called after at least 66 people — mostly Palestinians — were killed in a week of violence.

Arafat Storms Out

Tensions were so high throughout the talks in Paris that at one point Arafat stormed out of the meetings and got in his car to leave, but Albright literally sprinted after the Palestinian leader and managed to convince him to return to the meeting.

At another point, Arafat was seen arguing angrily and shaking his finger at Albright as they left the Elysee Palace after a short meeting with President Jacques Chirac which the U.N. Secretary-General also attended.

The chaos was set off last Thursday when Israel’s right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited a Jerusalem site holy to Muslims and Jews. But Israel says the Palestinians used this as a pretext for the violence.

Earlier today came word that the Palestinians and Israelis have reached a tentative deal to end the violence. But Barak is now headed home rather than to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he had been expected to meet again with Arafat and Albright.

“The prime minister is going home. There’s no point in going to Sharm el-Sheikh. Arafat gave commitments. Arafat refused to sign,” said a senior Israeli official, who asked not to be identified.

He said Barak saw no point in resuming talks in Egypt as long as Arafat refused to sign an agreement which had been drafted at the Paris talks and brokered by Albright.

Palestinian sources said Arafat had not refused to sign anything.

“When he left the talks, there was no question of any signing,” the sources said. “We had drawn up a basic agreement which we were taking to Egypt. We were not told that Barak would not be going there.”

Another Cease-Fire

During the night, the army said it had agreed to a cease-fire in talks with Palestinian security authorities, the fourth since violence erupted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip a week ago. Each cease-fire has collapsed.

The Israeli army has begun pulling tanks away from the entrances to Palestinian towns in the West Bank this morning, witnesses said.

A Reuters cameraman saw a tank that had been stationed near the town of Ramallah drive away toward base and Israel Radio reported that tanks had been withdrawn from Bethlehem, the outskirts of Jerusalem and Nablus.

Five Israelis, including four soldiers and a woman driver, were reported injured in Israel overnight, before the latest cease-fire was announced.

U.S.: Still Working on It

A senior U.S. official said Albright would still fly to Egypt to seek its help in reaching a deal.

Arafat had been headed for Egypt but the U.S. official said it was not clear if he would change his plans following Barak’s decision.

“It is not essential that Barak is in Sharm el-Sheikh,” the official said.

“We are going to talk to the Egyptians. We can’t say for sure that everything is pinned down, we are still trying to work things out,” he said.

Israeli sources said they would not rule out the possibility that Barak might join the talks in Egypt later in the day.

During the day of negotiations, both leaders made it clear that they wanted to find some way to end the violence. As the talks were going on it was another day of deadly rioting between Israelis and Palestinians as heavy military armor was used by Israeli troops to quell the Palestinian protests.

“Our move is clear, we have not initiated it, we have no interest in the continuation of this violence whatsoever,” said Barak.

Looking to End the Chaos

The State department had hoped to reach an agreement that would pull back Israeli troops positioned in Palestinian enclaves and convince angry Palestinian protesters to end their confrontations with the Israeli military.

Earlier, senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said the only agreement reached by the leaders had been to continue talks in Egypt.

But after negotiators discussed details overnight into early this morning, Abed Rabbo said: “We have not agreed on any point in the security document that was supposed to be finalized tonight. We rejected the concept of the document which tried to equate between the Palestinians and Israelis in responsibility for the massacres in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

Rabbo said the Palestinians also want an international investigation into the violence. Barak’s refusal to allow a U.N.-led inquiry has been one of the main sticking points.

An administration official traveling with Albright says the United States is hoping Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be able to help resolve that issue.

“We’re going to Egypt to talk to the Egyptians and get their help on the steps we worked out,” the official said. “We were very far along but we need help on the international commission. The secretary is hoping President Mubarak can provide that help.”

ABCNEWS’ Rebecca Cooper, Sue Masterman and Reuters contributed to this report.