U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni departed for Washington on Saturday after three weeks of intensive, but futile efforts to facilitate a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians. Though the State Department said that Zinni had been recalled for consultations with American leaders and a pre-planned Christmas vacation, speculation was raised whether he would resume his Mideast mission after the holidays.

A statement issued by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "[Secretary of State Colin] Powell has asked Senior Advisor Anthony Zinni to return to Washington for consultations. The purpose of these consultations is to provide an assessment to the President and Secretary Powell of the situation in light of recent events and how best to proceed. General Zinni will remain engaged and return to the region."

Zinni and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns, who has been touring the region, are due to discuss in Washington the implications of Israel's decision to halt contacts with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and Israel's escalated actions against Palestinian terrorist infrastructures in recent days. In the past week, Zinni had reportedly demanded that Arafat arrest those involved in suicide attacks against Israel.

According to one official involved with the Zinni mission, the "breaking point" came after Wednesday's terror attack at Emmanuel, at a time when the envoy believed he had made progress getting the sides to agree to 48 hours of quiet, the Jerusalem Post reported. When the perpetrator of the attack turned out to be a Palestinian included on the list of wanted terrorists Arafat was supposed to arrest, Zinni realized that the PA had not delivered on its promise to crack down on the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the official said.

But according to American senior officials, Zinni leaves the region angry at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as well, Maariv reported. According to the paper, Zinni was given the impression by Sharon that his mission had run its course. "He thanked me for my efforts, and made me understand that I have nothing more to do in the region at this time," Zinni reportedly told State Department officials, Maariv reported.

Israeli officials refused to confirm relaying this message to Zinni. Sharon's spokesman Ra'anan Gissin blamed Zinni's recall on continued Palestinian attacks. "The wave of terrorism that we've had since he arrived contributed to the fact that he could not bring his mission to a successful end," Gissin said. He insisted that the Israeli government "supported his mission from the beginning, and we support the continuation of his mission."

A Palestinian source told the Jerusalem Post that Zinni's departure would not change much, since he did not intervene in trying to end Israeli retaliatory strikes against the PA. He said that recalling Zinni, along with the U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution Saturday calling for foreign observers to be sent to the territories were "part of growing American and European pressure on Arafat."

Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath criticized the decision to recall Zinni. "The problem is not with Zinni. Zinni is a good man, an objective and reasonable man. The problem is with those who issue the orders for Zinni," Shaath said.

United States urged not to give up mission
Before his departure for Washington, Zinni held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Friday and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Saturday. The Jordanian king urged the United States to stay the course in its peace mediation efforts, saying its role was vital to ensure stability in the region.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said after Saturday's meeting that "President Mubarak affirmed the importance of putting a stop to Israel's attacks against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership in order to achieve calm, which would allow a return to negotiations.''

According to Yediot Aharonot, Powell and U.S. President George W. Bush were planning on utilizing "telephone diplomacy" in Zinni's absence. Powell was due to telephone both Sharon and Arafat to learn what each side was planning to do in the next few days to ease tensions. Powell reportedly would make clear to Sharon that the United States still regards Arafat as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, and was not planning to cut its contact with him as the Israeli government did last week.

Even so, President Bush expressed his exasperation with Arafat over the weekend when he told reporters, "Chairman Arafat has said he intends to fight terror, bring those to justice who are killing -- murderers -- in the Middle East and now is his time to perform. The world expects Chairman Arafat to lead and so do I."

The U.S. used its veto power on the Security Council to block an Arab-sponsored resolution reaffirming the "essential role'' of the Palestinian Authority in any Mideast peace negotiations. "One of the fundamental flaws of this resolution is that it never mentions the recent acts of terrorism against Israelis or those responsible for them," said American representative, John Negroponte.

The Bush administration plans to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to Washington to continue cease-fire deliberations there under Zinni's supervision, Yediot Aharonot reported. The earliest Zinni's mission could resume, whether based in Washington or in the Middle East, would be in early January.

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