PRESIDENT Clinton and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed the outlines of a future peace agreement between Israel and Syria but refused to reveal any details.
Mr Clinton said they exchanged ideas on how to revive the negotiations and he gave assurances that the US would work with both sides to achieve a peace agreement between the two Middle East countries.
The President said a peace agreement was also needed between Israel and Lebanon to complete the Israeli Palestinian one on Hebron and the hoped for one with Syria.
Mr Clinton confirmed that Mr Netanyahu had brought ideas on how to resume the peace talks with Syria which were broken off last year but he refused to give any details lest he undermine" the chances of success. He said the Israeli premier has thought through a way how peace might be achieved" which was compatible with the security and long term prosperity of the people in the region.
Mr Netanyahu described Mr Clinton as "an exceptional friend of Israel" and said he had come out of the talks yesterday with him with "renewed confidence" that they could continue on the road to peace.
Israel's relations with the US have improved dramatically since the last visit here by Mr Netanyahu in September in the wake of the Israeli Palestinian clashes that left dozens dead in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu is believed to have told Mr Clinton that some compromise is possible on the Golan Heights problem. The area was occupied by the Israelis during the 1967 war and is regarded as vital for Israeli security.
The previous Israeli government, headed by Mr Shimon Peres, had made some progress on a compromise but the more hardline Netanyahu government wants to resume negotiations with Syria "without conditions" and not from the point where they had stopped before the Israeli election which brought Mr Netanyahu to power.
The negotiations were suspended following a series of suicide bombings by Islamic fundamentalists in Israel.
Renter reports from Hebron: Jews and Arabs hurled oranges and abuse at each other yesterday as Jewish settlers protested against an Israeli decision to reopen an Arab produce market, witnesses said.
They said fighting and shouting erupted after about 15 Jewish settlers marched on the newly reopened market which they say endangers their security. They said the shouts were drowned out by a barrage of citrus.
Israeli soldiers, who earlier stopped settlers from marching on the market which abuts a Jewish enclave in the city centre, cleared the area of Palestinians and allowed only municipal employees to stay near the stores.