Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in Washington on Sunday to discuss "serious" Middle East peace proposals as hope emerged that a bitter standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity could soon be resolved.
The right-wing Israeli leader, due to meet US President George W. Bush on Tuesday, was carrying what Palestinians see as his usual baggage -- a desire to sideline Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and a vision of peace that does not go beyond a long-term interim deal leaving Jewish settlers on Israeli-occupied land.
In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, a 35-day Israeli army siege of the Church of the Nativity looked close to ending with a deal that would exile 39 of the Palestinian militants holed up inside to Europe or the Gaza Strip.
"The negotiations are still continuing and they're going extremely well, but the people are not expected to come out of the church tonight (Sunday night). They are expected to come out tomorrow (Monday)," an Israeli military spokeswoman told Reuters.
The winding-down of Israel's West Bank offensive and a US-brokered end last week to Israel's month-long siege of Arafat's headquarters have raised hopes of a new chance of breaking the 19-month-old cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
In a surprise move, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week Washington was preparing for an international conference early this summer to take advantage of a "window of opportunity" opened by the end of Arafat's confinement.
But the White House sought later to dampen expectations, saying only cabinet ministers would attend the conference and it would probably not propose a final settlement.
Arafat welcomed the proposed forum but said he wanted to consult Arab leaders before committing himself. Israeli officials said Sharon would seek more details from Bush.
In the run-up to the Washington visit, Sharon said on US television that he would be bringing "maybe the most serious" plan yet presented on reaching peace in the Middle East.
He gave no details, but Israeli political sources said it resembled his previous proposal for a long-term interim arrangement that would include Israeli security buffer zones in the West Bank and leave Jewish settlements in place.
Sharon also has called for a regional conference that would include "moderate" Arab leaders. He has said Arafat can no longer be a peace partner, but failed to persuade Bush at their last meeting in February to seek a replacement Palestinian leadership.
Powell's proposal for a broader conference, after recent discussions between Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, was agreed Thursday by the "quartet" of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union -- a grouping set up to coordinate Palestinian-Israeli mediation efforts.
Israel has resisted a wider EU or United Nations role in Middle East peacemaking, viewing both organizations as biased toward the Palestinians.
Sharon was taking a 100-page report to Washington which Israel said showed Arafat's personal involvement in "terrorism" and that his Fatah faction took a leading role in attacks against Israelis.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has dismissed the allegations in the file as "lies, forgeries and fabrication." Israeli troops surrounding the Church of the Nativity have been trying to force militants inside to surrender to be tried Israel or sent into exile for their alleged role in attacks on Israeli civilians.
(China Daily May 6, 2002)
