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                            THE WHITE HOUSE
                     Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                   October 30, 2000
                             PRESS BRIEFING
                                   BY
                              JAKE SIEWERT
                    The James S. Brady Briefing Room
1:42 P.M. EST
     Q    Jake, what's the latest reaction to the Israeli situation and
the greater defenses used by Israeli tanks and also discussions with the
Barak government?
     MR. SIEWERT:  We haven't had any discussions today, I don't think.
The President spoke, as I said, this morning to Prime Minister Barak.
But we made clear that we remain convinced that the best way to get to a
calmer situation on the ground is through implementation of the Sharm
el-Sheikh agreements.  I'm not going to comment on what's happened on
the ground.  I'm not sure exactly what your situation referred to.
     But the Prime Minister told the President that he's made it very
clear that he wants to find a path back to peace and ultimately to the
-- a bargaining table, but we're focused right now on implementing the
Sharm el-Sheikh, and the first track of Sharm el-Sheikh is to implement
security arrangements that would provide more calm on the ground.
     Q    The Israeli military has said they're going to go into a
greater offensive posture, rather than just defensive.
     MR. CROWLEY:  I'm not sure that's a fair characterization.
     Q    How do you view it?  I'll take your way.
     Q    Jake, we've heard about a couple conversations that he's had
with the Prime Minister.  Has the President had any recent conversations
with Chairman Arafat, or are those conversations over with?
     MR. SIEWERT:  - twice or so over the last week, but I don't know
that there has been anything since --
     MR. CROWLEY:  We have the ability to talk to both sides at various
levels on a continual basis.
     Q    I understand that.  But the President spoke with the Prime
Minister yesterday and I think Thursday.  Has he spoken with Chairman
Arafat?
     MR. SIEWERT:  He's certainly spoken to Chairman Arafat within the
last week, but I'm not aware of any calls over the weekend.  There were
no calls over the weekend, but we can, as PJ said, communicate with them
through him and through others.
                           END 2:08 P.M. EST