They shook hands. One called the other "my partner and my friend." But they did not agree on any big points. Two days of talks, including a private three-hour meeting after lunch, did not bring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat closer together. A meeting in Washington could not heal the wounds caused by a week of bloodshed. The leaders agreed to keep on talking. Nothing more.
Two weeks ago, a fragile Middle East peace collapsed when Israel opened a tunnel entrance in Jerusalem, angering Palestinians. Fighting spread throughout the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Last week President Bill Clinton tried to get the peace process back on track. He invited Netanyahu and Arafat to the White House. Clinton pleaded, "Please, please, give us a chance to make this thing work."
Netanyahu claimed the meeting was a success. The tunnel remains open. Arafat returned to his people empty-handed. But Middle East expert Robert Satloff says that at least the meeting got them to talk. "They now see," he says, "how to get themselves out of the terribly dangerous phase they've been in."