71.   Israeli and Syrian negotiators met for three days last week with American mediators.

72.   Israel has accepted new U.S. truce proposals with some reluctance, the Israeli defense minister said Tuesday, while the Palestinians sought further clarifications from an American mediator.

73.   Late Wednesday, Israelis, Palestinians and unspecified American mediators were reportedly meeting in Bethlehem.

74.   More than two weeks of direct negotiations, after American mediators failed to bridge gaps, has not yielded any progress.

75.   Netanyahu spoke a day after Syrian President Hafez Assad reportedly warned Israel through American mediators that he had other options if the peace talks did not resume.

76.   President Clinton is sending senior American mediator Dennis Ross to the Middle East to try to halt violence that threatens to rupture peacemaking between Israel and the Arabs.

77.   She also said she would send American mediator Dennis B. Ross back to the region next week to try to spur peace talks.

78.   The American mediator, Carey Cavanaugh, will urge Turkey and Greece to restrict their military overflights of the island, the State Department said.

79.   Syrian President Hafez Assad warned Israel through American mediators that he will consider other options if peace talks do not resume, an Israeli daily said Tuesday.

80.   The American mediator, Dennis Ross, was wrapping up a five-day trip to the region on Monday with final talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.