A grim Oded Eran, head of the Israeli peace negotiation team, walked out of a 90-minute-long meeting on January 10 after refusing the refugee document presented by the Palestinians.

"We presented our stance from a historical point of view and we have based our requests on UN Resolution 194." said chief Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo. "We called for a formula to organize the return and the compensation of Palestinians refugees forcibly evicted from their homeland."

"We also listened to the Israeli point of view - which is the opposite of ours," Rabbo added.

The Palestinian understandings on a refugee solution focused on four points: the right of all Palestinians refugees - both those displaced in 1948 and 1967 - to return; the right of compensation regardless of the implementation of that right; Israeli recognition of its responsibility for causing the Palestinian refugee problem and the requirement of the explicit mention of all these points in the framework agreement.

As barely one month remains until a framework agreement is due, Abed Rabbo admitted that the remaining days will not be sufficient to wrap up an accord.

The refugee question was also on the spot at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on January 11. The Knesset member Yisrael Katz (Likud) along with 60 other co-signatories, submitted a bill asking that a two-thirds or 80-member vote in favor be required to allow a Palestinian return. According to the proposed bill, as many as 100 permits allowing Palestinians to return could be granted annually for humanitarian reasons.

The Israeli-Palestinian delegations also met on January 11 to discuss the last phase of the second redeployment. Within ten days, Israeli forces are scheduled to hand back to Palestinians 6.1 percent of land, including areas around Jerusalem.

The most recent redeployment took place last week. Some 110 square kilometers were transferred from Area "B" (that of joint Palestinian-Israeli control) to Area "A" under full Palestinian Authority control. An additional 166 square kilometers passed from total Israeli control to joint control.

But Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator on interim issues was not happy. "Once again we face the same problem. The percentage of land we received is less that it should have been. Israel has transferred to the Authority only 4.9 percent of West Bank lands. Israel insists in not considering Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Latrun areas as part of the West Bank."

Despite disagreements, the redeployment implementation goes on. The Palestinian Authority asked that the third and final phase of redeployment be concluded within February - the same date scheduled for conclusion of the framework agreement. According to Oslo Accords, the complete Israeli withdrawal should have been concluded by the second half of 1997.

A just and durable peace also includes the liberation of political detainees. At press time the joint prisoners committee is holding a meeting to draft another list of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails. On January 5, the Israeli government arbitrarily released 22 prisoners, but Palestinians complained of the absence of political prisoners in the group.