http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/show_katava.asp?id=12955
Ha'aretz, January 30, 1998
Israel Wants CIA Out of PLO Talks
By Reuters
LONDON Israel has told the United States it wants the Central Intelligence
Agency excluded from security talks between Israelis and Palestinians, the
Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
Palestinian chairman Yasser Arafat strongly opposes the Israeli move, the
report from Jerusalem said.
The CIA has participated in meetings between Israeli and Palestinian security
forces for several months as part of security cooperation in combating
terrorism.
The newspaper said the issue was raised by Israeli PM Netanyahu during talks
in Washington last week with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
"The United States was trying to promote trust and confidence between both
sides. It was going well," the newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official.
Officials close to the talks said Albright had been briefed by CIA officials
stationed in Tel Aviv that the Palestinian Authority was "moving in the right
direction against terrorism," the Financial Times reported.
"But it seemed it was going too well," one official told the newspaper. "It
appears this government does not want to acknowledge that the Palestinians are
tackling terrorism. If it did, there would be hope for putting the peace
process back on track. It would rob Netanyahu of reasons to slow down."
An Israeli government official said he was checking the report.
A Palestinian official said the United States has told Palestinian leaders
that the CIA would continue attending the security talks.
"Our position has always been that we prefer trilateral meetings and the
Americans in Washington reiterated that they will continue attending those
meetings," a senior Palestinian security official said.
"During the Washington meetings, the Americans did not inform us of any Israeli
request that the CIA not attend the meetings, although the Israelis have told
us in previous meetings that they prefer bilateral meetings," he added.
(c) copyright 1998 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
