The flap over Hillary Clinton’s silence during an anti-Israeli outburst by Yasser Arafat’s wife continued yesterday as the first lady wrapped up her four-day trip to the Middle East.
Before a visit to the grave of Jordan’s King Hussein, reporters asked Mrs. Clinton to respond to Mayor Giuliani’s criticism of her for embracing Mrs. Arafat following thespeech.
The first lady said she’d been touring Israel, the West Bank and Jordan to support President Clinton’s attempts to broker a Middle East peace deal.
“I’d hope every American would support these extraordinarily difficult undertakings,” she said. “And that is what the president and I intend to do ” to stand with those who stand for peace.”
Mrs. Clinton hedged Friday when a reporter asked if she would reiterate her support for Jerusalem as the “indivisible capital of Israel.”
“I don’t think it’s useful to comment on any of the issues that are part of final-status negotiations,” she said, referring to the final round of Middle East peace talks. Both Israelis and Palestinians have staked claims on Jerusalem.
Clinton’s terse “no comment” came a day after her politically messy appearance at a supposedly nonpolitical West Bank event at which Suha Arafat accused Israelis of trying to poison Palestinians.
Asked if the first lady had changed her position about Jerusalem, spokesman Howard Wolfson said, “Absolutely not. She still believes that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel.”
But allies of Mayor Giuliani seized on her non-statement yesterday.
“You can support the peace process as Mayor Giuliani does, and also support an undivided Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital,”said Bruce Teitelbaum, a Giuliani political aide.