2 Views on U.S. Proposal: Relief and Apprehension
Surprised and pleased, Palestinian officials were hoping today that the American-brokered compromise to break the siege around Yasir Arafat would mark the beginning of even deeper international involvement to end the conflict.

Israelis worried that it meant exactly the same thing.

"We are creating a precedent here that might play against us," warned Yuval Steinitz, a member of the Israeli Parliament and a leader on security issues in the Likud Party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "I think it was a mistake."

Others glimpsed an opportunity. "The Bush plan can be the beginning of something," said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. "I really hope that this will pave the way for a broader international presence, and broader peacekeeping forces in our area to monitor everything."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/30/international/middleeast/30ASSE.html