World

Mideast Peace Connection

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 4, 1999 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators agreed on terms for the first-ever safe route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday, saying all that was needed was Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's approval.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak has approved the terms, chief Israeli negotiator Shlomo Ben-Ami said.

Ben-Ami, who is also Public Security Minister, said the agreement brought a "new atmosphere" to the talks, which were revived last month.

"We need to look at it as representative of a new phase of negotiations," Ben-Ami said.

The Gaza Strip, on the Mediterranean coast, and the landlocked West Bank are about 24 miles apart and separated by Israeli land. The "safe passage" agreement would allow Palestinians to use Israeli highways along a fixed route between the territories.

Palestinians said that the agreement over the route delayed for four years by previous governments was a sign of good intentions.

They predicted Arafat would approve the agreement, and that the passage would open within two days. It was supposed to open last week under the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

"Our negotiations were conducted in a very positive, businesslike atmosphere," Saeb Erekat, the top Palestinian negotiator said. "Both sides exerted maximum effort... both sides were aware of the sensitivities and concerns."

The final sticking point had been over which side would dole out permits to travel the route.

Ultimately the two sides decided that Palestinians would apply to a Palestinian office for magnetic entry cards, and the applications would then be turned over to Israeli officials for a security checks. After approval, the traveler would pick up the card from a joint Israeli-Palestinian office, Erekat said

The passage would operate at least ten hours a day, seven days a week, Erekat said, and travelers would be expected to make the 28-mile trip within two hours.

The issue of opening the route has been an emotional one for both sides.

For Palestinians, the route is an essential link between the two territories under their control.

"The purpose of safe passage is to make life easier for Palestinians," said Rashid Abu Shbak, a Palestinian security official in the Gaza Strip.

Some Israelis, however, have protested that opening a route is an invitation to terror attacks.

Ben-Ami said the new agreement addressed Israel's concerns about security.

"A safe passage must be safe not just for Palestinians, but also for Israelis," he said. "It's important to preserve the absolute and uncompromising sovereignty of Israel."

Barak said in a Knesset speech on Monday that he saw safe passage on Israeli highways as a temporary agreement, ultimately to be replaced by building a separate, elevated highway.

Negotiators also resolved the prickly issue over whether Israel could arrest Palestinians on the road, said Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, a member of the negoiating team.

"Israel has given assurances that safe passage will not become a trap for Palestinians," he said, but was not more specific.

In a sign of the delicate security situation, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, Ami Ayalon, met with Arafat on Sunday to discuss warnings that Islamic Jihad militants were planning anti-Israel attacks, Israel TV reported. Arafat promised security cooperation, the report said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli soldier was injured Monday evening by stones thrown at his car in the southern West Bank, an army statement said. Troops were searching the area.