WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- President Clinton is trying harder than ever to enforce a deal in the Middle East before he leaves office, Time and Newsweek magazines said in their forthcoming issues.
Time quoted Clinton as telling Arafat, who had refused the U.S. president's proposal for a peace deal, "If you don't take this golden opportunity you will have no mention in history and coming generations of Palestinians will curse you."
Time reported that Arafat hung up the receiver, turned to an aide and said, "He's threatening me."
Time quoted Arafat's advisers as saying that many Arab leader had privately urged Arafat not to negotiate with Barak on Clinton's peace plan as they feared street protests in their countries.
Newsweek said it had obtained Israeli notes from a meeting with Clinton that said that his proposal would die at the end of his term.
"These are the ideas of the President," the notes said. ""If they are not accepted, they are not just off the table; they go with the President as he leaves office."
Clinton's proposal urged the Palestinians to accept that "there is no specific right of return to Israel itself," but that refugees could immigrate to the new Palestinian state or choose from other alternatives. Israel, in turn, would agree to Palestinian sovereignty over the Temple Mount, while retaining sovereignty over the Western wall.
Israel has consistently opposed turning over the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.
