Epstein Secrets

journalist Ron Pundak. Three PLO officials were there, led by Arafat’s closest economic aide, Abu Ala’a. Though both of the Israelis were friends of Yossi Beilin, a protégé of Peres and our deputy foreign minister, even Peres didn’t know about the meeting until Yossi told him the following day. Rabin knew an h

s that I meet with a Syrian representative, and President Assad agreed. Later that month, I was sent to Washington for talks with Syria’s ambassador, Walid Muallem. With the Americans’ Mideast envoy, Dennis Ross, as host, we met in Blair House across the street from the White House. I began by explaining the se

journalist Ron Pundak. Three PLO officials were there, led by Arafat's closest economic aide, Abu Ala'a. Though both of the Israelis were friends of Yossi Beilin, a protégé of Peres and our deputy foreign minister, even Peres didn't know about the meeting until Yossi told him the following day. Rabin knew an h

s that I meet with a Syrian representative, and President Assad agreed. Later that month, I was sent to Washington for talks with Syria's ambassador, Walid Muallem. With the Americans' Mideast envoy, Dennis Ross, as host, we met in Blair House across the street from the White House. I began by explaining the sec

uent talks between the parties. In 1992, as the director of the Norwegian research institute Fafo, I initiated, together with then member of Knesset Yossi Beilin, secret talks between him and local Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini, at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. These talks, which were facilitate

s I was told that the reason was to avoid the media who were waiting for the arrival of the UN team in Damascus. I was picked up at Aleppo airport by Walid Muallem, who was then Deputy Foreign Minister. He brought me to Assad’s villa, where a few hours of negotiations resulted in the Aleppo understanding, which