PLO and Israel close to signing Jericho accord

YITZHAK RABIN, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, are meeting in Cairo today to finalise the long-awaited deal for Gaza and Jericho, amid hopes that the agreement will be signed tomorrow.

In the Egyptian capital yesterday Nabil Shaath, the PLO's top negotiatior, said the organisation's officials would go into the Gaza Strip and Jericho today to arrange deployment of Palestinian police. 'Everything is geared up at top speed toward the implementation of this agreement immediately after the signing on Wednesday,' he said.

In recent days new momentum has produced a surge of optimism as both sides have appeared determined to overcome the differences which have delayed the signing.

Mr Arafat said yesterday he was hopeful that a deal would be signed on schedule tomorrow but problems remained. 'We still have some problems but where there is a will there is a way. I am waiting. It depends on the other side,' the PLO leader said in Stuttgart, where he was visiting Daimler-Benz. 'We are very flexible but there has been no response from the other side . . . remember that the final withdrawal date was supposed to be 13 April.'

It was still not certain last night that all remaining obstacles could be overcome. In their discussions in Cairo today Mr Rabin and Mr Arafat will attempt to resolve their two most irreconcilable differences - the size of Jericho and the Palestinian police presence at the crossing- points into the Gaza and Jericho zones. Egyptian officials appeared confident that these items would not hold up tomorrow's ceremony.

The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, is determined that the signing be marked in style, and is reported to have invited representatives from more than 40 countries to attend. The United States Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, and the Russian Foreign Minister, Andrei Kozyrev, are expected to speak at the signing ceremony.

The two sides have indicated that they wish swiftly to follow up the signing by putting words into action on the ground. Israel says it is prepared to carry out a speedy military withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho, completing the process within weeks of the signing. The PLO says it is prepraring to draft in up to 1,000 Palestinian police by the end of the week.

There remains room for caution, however. The final stages of the negotiations have taken a huge act of political will, and many aspects of the autonomy deal remain unclarified. For example, the two sides are reported to have finalised their agreement on the jurisdiction of the new Palestinian courts and police but no Palestinian courts are in place and no statement has been issued about when and where the Palestinian police exercise their authority. In particular, no details have been given about whether Israelis can be brought before Palestinian courts.

Meanwhile, Israel's other partners in the peace process have poured cold water on the signing ceremony by refusing to send high- level representatives.

According to Egyptian sources, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon have refused invitations to send their foreign ministers to the Cairo ceremony. Each for their own reasons has been angered by the PLO decision to go it alone and its reneging on commitments which they say demanded a comprehensive peace deal.

(Photograph omitted)