Mideast diplomacy

Given Benjamin Netanyahu's uneasy relationship with the Clinton administration, traveling to Washington this week was probably not the Israeli prime minister's preferred method of dealing with the crisis in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

That he agreed to join Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, King Hussein of Jordan and possibly President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in Washington suggests that Netanyahu appreciates the need for intense diplomacy and some flexibility to save a tattered peace.

Though the deadly confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian police gave way to a tense truce over the weekend, passions continue to run high and new fighting could easily resume if the political deadlock is not eased.

President Clinton will be accused of playing politics, but America's intermediary role is not free of risk and any campaign gains will be incidental. He exercised responsible American leadership by offering his help to rescue the Middle East peace effort. No other country has the credibility and authority in the region to play a mediating role.

While Netanyahu and Arafat have been unyielding in their public statements about the issues that ignited last week's violence, both men repeatedly reaffirmed their desire to salvage the peace effort. The key to this week's discussions is to draw the two leaders away from assigning blame for the rioting and get them talking about the broader issues that divide them.

Surely there must be a face-saving way for both sides to resolve the problem of the archeological tunnel in Jerusalem that Israel resumed work on last week. The tunnel may have been the issue that provoked the fighting, but it should now be treated as a negotiable detail, not a matter of principle.

The more important issue growing out of the crisis is how Israel and the Palestinians can recover a measure of mutual trust about the role of their armed forces. Netanyahu is right to be concerned that Palestinian police, armed by Israel to provide security in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza, turned their guns against Israeli soldiers when the rioting began. Israel used helicopter gunships in the towns it turned over to Palestinian control under the peace accords.

Both sides need to come away from Washington assured that firefights like last week's will not happen again. Some understanding on how Israel intends to thin out its military presence in the West Bank city of Hebron should also be worked out.

The agreement to come to Washington is a good sign. Now Netanyahu and Arafat must make something of the opportunity. It is not too late to use this crisis as a springboard to peace.

-- The New York Times