Clinton and Rabin Face Challenges in Middle East Peace Talks Amid Republican Control of Congress

President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process, but the prospects for success were clouded by the impending Republican control of Congress, particularly Senator Jesse Helms, who has expressed skepticism about the peace talks. Despite Clinton's firm commitments to aid and military assistance, the issue of American peacekeepers in the Golan Heights is a sensitive one, and Helms's opposition could create roadblocks for the peace process. The two leaders also discussed the challenges facing the autonomous Palestinian Authority in Gaza and the need for international aid to finance its internal peacekeeping operations.

Key Takeaways:

• President Clinton made firm commitments to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, including generous foreign aid, further military assistance, and the prospect of American peacekeeping troops in the Golan Heights.
• Senator Jesse Helms, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has expressed opposition to American peacekeepers in the Golan Heights and suggested that aid to Israel and other Middle East nations should be reviewed.
• Helms's comments have created tension and raised questions about the prospects for Middle East peace talks under Republican control of Congress.
• The autonomous Palestinian Authority in Gaza is struggling to keep the peace and has sought a quick dose of American aid to finance its internal peacekeeping operations.
• Clinton has pledged to continue the joint development of Israel's Arrow antimissile missile and to approve export licenses for Israel's purchase of two supercomputers.
• The Israeli government receives $3 billion a year in foreign aid, and Clinton has agreed to ask Congress to continue this funding.
• The Palestinian Authority has received only $70 million of the $700 million pledged by donors worldwide to finance the start-up of self-rule.

Statistics:

• 1,000 American peacekeepers have been stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1982.
• $3 billion: annual foreign aid to Israel.
• $125 million: amount of aid that donors are likely to allocate to the Palestinian Authority next week in Brussels.
• $700 million: total amount pledged by donors worldwide to finance the start-up of self-rule in Gaza.
• 20: number of years that American peacekeepers have been stationed in the Sinai Peninsula without major incident.
• 2: number of supercomputers that Israel plans to purchase.

Sources:

• New York Times, November 24, 1994, A10.
• Cable News Network, November 19, 1994.
• Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, photo caption, November 24, 1994, A10.