Barak, however, said the test of the agreement will be in its implementation. If we do find the violence declining, that will be an excellent thing. UN Secretary-General Annan said Barak and Arafat have stepped back from the abyss and renewed their commitment to resolve their differences by peaceful means. He said the Summit achieved significant agreement on security, renewing the peace process and on fact-finding. It has not been easy.
Feelings run high on both sides.
The closing session came against a backdrop of more violence in Gaza, as hundreds of Palestinian settlers threw stones and fire-bombs at an Israeli border crossing, drawing return fire that injured 10 demonstrators. The leaders worked late into the morning hours and were up early again, with Clinton shuttling back and forth between Arafat and Barak to work out final wording of his statement. Clinton said the US and Annan would be involved in a fact-finding mission aimed at figuring out cause of the latest round of violence. Clinton, summarizing the accord, said the fact-finding committee's final report would be submitted under US auspices for publication and that Annan would be involved in the process. Clinton also said Israel would reopen a Palestinian airport in Gaza.