Haidar Abdel Shafi

Israel and its Arab adversaries, laying out their terms for peace, collided wildly Thursday over the history of their bloody dispute, the blame for it and the very basis of the negotiations meant to bring it to an end. Beyond unanimous appeals for an end to perpetual conflict, hints at compromise were tantalizingly rare on the second day of Madrid's historic Middle East peace conference.

The American television crew took over Hanan Ashrawi's living room and set up their lights, camera and microphones in what amounted to the ultimate recognition of the Palestinian spokeswoman's rise to the status of media superstar: They videotaped her being interviewed by other reporters. "News about making news," commented Ashrawi with characteristic sharp wit. "Perhaps another crew will come in to take pictures of this crew taking pictures of you reporters. It could go on forever."

Diplomacy: The designated Israeli and Palestinian spin controllers epitomize the way TV continues to be the primary PR battleground in political warfare between the two sides. Whether domestically or globally, the telegenic rule the airwaves. He's handsome and urbane, speaking articulately in perfect English. He could be your brother, your uncle. She's genial and polished, speaking eloquently in perfect English. She could be your sister, your aunt.

As Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization conclude terms for Palestinian self-rule, leaders who began the negotiations 2 1/2 years ago rejected the emerging accord Monday as far from the original goals and likely to bring further conflict rather than peace. Dr.

The return of PLO leader Yasser Arafat to the freed Palestinian areas was an emotional experience by all measures. What made the return most dramatic was that Arafat chose to come first to crowded and potentially dangerous Gaza rather than the more comfortable and contained area of Jericho in the West Bank. The people of Gaza rewarded Arafat by giving him a passionate hero's welcome. But was Arafat's return a victory? Hardly.

The patient is almost dead. The patient in this scenario is the Middle East peace process--or hope for it. All the resuscitation efforts--shuttling back and forth by U.S. envoy Dennis Ross, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit or the incomprehensible summit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Jordan's King Hussein in Cairo--have failed. Like the lonely feeling of a hospital waiting room, anxiety fills the air of this troubled region.

Police will arrest three leading members of the Palestinian delegation to Middle East peace talks because they met openly with Yasser Arafat, head of the banned Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel's minister of police said Friday. The trio, delegation leader Faisal Husseini and spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi from Jerusalem and chief negotiator Haidar Abdel Shafi from the Gaza Strip, met in a televised session with Arafat on Thursday in Amman, Jordan.

In the already laborious Middle East peace talks, which adjourned a second round in Washington this week, Syria, Israel and the Palestinians appear set on trying to gain early, sweeping concessions from their adversaries, a maneuver that is leading to much posturing and little progress. Three teams of Israeli negotiators are expected to resume contact sometime in January, probably in Washington, with representatives of Syria, Lebanon and, in a tandem grouping, Jordan and the Palestinians.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III came to this week's Middle East peace conference hoping to see some conciliatory gestures from Arab and Israeli leaders--and aiming for a rapid start of one-on-one talks on the issues that have touched off five wars. Instead, the gestures have been few and painfully grudging, and Baker has found himself enmeshed in behind-the-scenes negotiations over procedural problems simply to keep the talks on track.

Ceremonial as were their ritual appeals for peace, the opening addresses by Israeli and Arab delegates to the Middle East talks Thursday betrayed unceremonious hints of how they expect the conference to proceed in the coming crucial days. Their tactical views appear as irreconcilable as their differing notions about the Middle East conflict's causes and possible solutions.