January 20, 2001

George W. Bush is sworn in as pres. of the U.S. Less than 3 hrs. before the inauguration, Clinton makes a final farewell call to Barak. (MENA 1/20, al-Quds 1/21 in WNC 1/22; AYM 1/20 in WNC 1/23, 1/26; MM 1/22, 1/24; HJ 1/25 in WNC 1/30; MEI, MM 1/26)

After mtg. with his security cabinet, Barak announces Israel's acceptance of Arafat's offer to enter marathon negotiations on 1/21 in Egypt. (NYT, WP, WT, YA 1/21; AYM 1/21 in WNC 1/22)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue at a low level. Israel credits the PA with keeping the number of incidents down over the past few days. (YA 1/21)