31.   Israel has refused to accept the American initiative, and talks on the long overdue withdrawal have been deadlocked for months.

32.   Israel has refused to accept the American initiative, and talks on the long overdue troop withdrawal have been deadlocked for months.

33.   Miller admitted the American initiative, led by special envoy Richard Holbrooke, was not going to be easy.

34.   Netanyahu, however, said an accord on an American initiative for an Israeli pullback from parts of the West Bank was possible.

35.   Moussa told reporters Sunday there has been no progress in getting Israeli approval of the American initiative.

36.   Nor was there any way to cover up the fissures over the American initiative to mount a blockade.

37.   Now, the chief instigators of the worst bloodshed in Europe since World War II are on the threshold of accepting an American initiative to end the carnage.

38.   Palestinian officials reiterated Sunday that they would not agree to changes in the American initiative now.

39.   Ross arrived Wednesday for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, boosting hopes for an American initiative that might break the two-month stalemate.

40.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said an accord on an American initiative for an Israeli pullback from parts of the West Bank was within reach.