The Camp David peace talks

Statements issued on Thursday from Camp David by U.S. President Bill Clinton and the spokespersons for the Israeli and Palestinian delegations do not suggest any breakthrough, but they do not make us despair either.

As the U.S. president said, the task at hand -- solving the issues of Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem -- poses many more difficulties than any other conflict in which Washington has mediated recently, be it Northern Ireland or the Balkans.

But some progress is being made at Camp David, and, as Clinton also said, there appear to be more reasons to be optimistic today than at the beginning of the tripartite summit, which began slightly more than one week ago.

Clinton wants to leave behind himself legacy of a Middle East peace deal, and over these past eight years he has earned the confidence of both sides. Although American presidents have historically had very warm relations with Israeli premiers, the same has never applied before to their relationship with the Palestinians.

The issues at stake are crucial, and it would be too optimistic to believe that the 50-year tragedy of the entire Palestinian nation could be finally solved in a couple of weeks of negotiations.

-- The Jordan Times, Amman