PALESTINIANS involved in the talks expect an early agreement on Israeli army redeployment in Hebron. In the words of the chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr Saeb Erekat, arrangements worked out between the two sides are "consistent" with the accord signed by the Israeli Labour government in 1995, writes Michael Jansen.
Dr Erekat said it appears that the present Likud government has, after nearly three months of talks, "concluded that the Palestinian side will not accept any changes in the signed agreement".
The Palestinians have apparently denied the Likud several demands which would have changed the balance of forces in the town.
Among these was the demand that Palestinian policemen should be armed with pistols rather than rifles and that the main street in the central sector of Hebron, due to remain under Israeli control, should be closed to Palestinian traffic.
Although these issues seem minor in the overall plan, the fact that the Palestinians have prevailed is a tactical victory.
A Palestinian observer said the Palestine Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the negotiators were subjected to "breathtaking pressure" by Israel and, most especially, by the US, which threatened to cut its subventions to the authority if it did not sign soon.
The Palestinians seem to have firmly linked the Hebron redeployment with Israeli implementation of the major outstanding aspects of the accords signed by the two sides, which amounts to a strategic victory for the Palestinians. As Mr Hassan Asfour, the PLO's coordinator of negotiations told The Irish Times, "very little has been implemented so far".
"The most important provisions remain outstanding, including the opening of the safe passage connecting Gaza to the West Bank, the redeployment out of `Area B' [the villages of the West Bank] and `Area C' [open country, giving the Palestinians more than 70 per cent of the land], the handover of many aspects of civil affairs and the release of our 5,000 political prisoners," Mr Asfour said.
Indeed, the Palestinians have drawn up a list of 34 areas in which Israel has violated the various accords it has signed, compared with four items Israeli spokesmen have claimed the Palestinians have not implemented.