Does Peace Have a Chance?

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, left, spoke to Clinton at the White House last week.

Bill Clinton would love to be remembered as the President who brought peace to the Middle East. And in the final days of his presidency, he is giving this almost impossible dream one last shot.

About 360 people have died in the region during the past three months of violence between Palestinians and Israelis. The fighting has embittered both sides. It may even cost Israel's leader his job: Prime Minister Ehud Barak faces a tough battle for re-election in February.

Last week Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to discuss one last peace plan, which Clinton came up with last month.

Under Clinton's plan, Palestinians would finally get an official nation. It would be formed from the Gaza Strip and 95% of the West Bank, already Palestinian controlled.

Both sides claim Jerusalem as their capital, so the plan proposes a compromise. Palestinians would control East Jerusalem and the top of a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims: the Temple Mount, or Haram es-Sharif.

In exchange, Palestinians would have to give up their claim that the 750,000 Palestinians who left their homes when Israel was created in 1948 have the right to return to Israel with their relatives. That would be about 4 million people. Israel's population is 5 million. Israelis would also sacrifice: most of the 200,000 now living in the West Bank would have to move.

Will the plan work? The odds are slim. Barak has said he would never give Palestinians control of the top of Temple Mount. Arafat has said he will never give up the Palestinians' right to return to Israel. Both sides have big concerns about future violence. "It will be very difficult to reach an agreement before the end of Clinton's term," says Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. If ever.