Jerusalem - The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, is floating a new proposal for a partial Israeli troop pullout from the West Bank and an accelerated push to a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians, David Horovitz writes. But Palestinians leaders are dismissing the idea as too little, too late, and disingenuous.
Reports from Washington indicate that the Clinton Administration has urged Mr Netanyahu to honour Israel's commitments under the Oslo accords by carrying out two overdue military pullbacks - handing over West Bank territory to Mr Yasser Arafat's control.
Mr Netanyahu was yesterday finalising with his ministers a proposal to withdraw from some 6 per cent of the West Bank. The Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr David Levy, is to hold talks on the proposal with Mr Arafat's deputy, Mr Abu Mazen, in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have recommended indicting Mr Netanyahu's top political aide on charges of theft and fraud, Israeli TV stations said yesterday. The aide, Mr Avigdor Lieberman, had resigned on Sunday as director of the Prime Minister's Office, a position equivalent to White House chief of staff.
