 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 1fax0126.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Jan. 26, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 14
Barak: It's Treason to Surrender Temple Mount
By Arutz-7 News
Handing over the Temple Mount would be an act of treason. So declared Ehud Barak in a letter to President George W. Bush. "The Temple Mount is the cradle of Jewish history and there is no way that I would sign a document transferring sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the hands of the Palestinians." Barak has consistently used exactly this phraseology when referring to his intentions vis-a-vis the Temple Mount. "For Israel this would constitute a betrayal of her Holy of Holies," he concluded.
Israeli-Palestinian Talks Continue Despite Killing
By VOA's Scott Bobb in Taba & Laurie Kassman in Jerusalem
Israeli negotiators continued peace talks with Palestinians on Thursday despite the murder of an Israeli civilian in east Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told the negotiators to keep working. Earlier in the week, Barak suspended the talks following the murder of two Israelis by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank.
Before Thursday's killing, there were reports that the talks were making progress. Negotiators said the sides were moving toward an agreement on the borders of a Palestinian state. The reports say Israel would annex several blocks of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the Palestinians would receive a portion of Israeli land in return. Negotiators also report progress on the issue of Palestinian refugees, but have not revealed specific proposals.
Palestinian security officials have arrested four people in connection with the killing of Israelis. The suspects were described as being members of the Fatah faction headed by Yasir Arafat.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami, who heads the negotiating team, was in Taba with Justice Minister Yossi Beilin for Thursday evening's talks. Beilin arrived as a boat from Israel sailed close to the conference hotel with Israeli peace activists, singing songs.
Beilin and several senior Palestinian negotiators went out on a pier and waved to the boat. Afterward, the Israeli official explained why the talks are resuming. "Despite the hatred and the revenge and all these emotions," he said, "I think that our role is to try to change the situation to normalcy. This is the way we see it, both in the best of interest for both peoples, and that we will try to do in the coming days."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who accompanied the Israeli minister, expressed a similar wish, but he also touched on some of the differences between the two sides. "I hope we can make peace," he said. "I think Palestinians and Israelis deserve peace. And I hope we can accommodate a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, next to the state of Israel. That's the goal of peace."
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are trying to reach some kind of agreement before Israel's prime ministerial election in 12 days. Barak is hoping an agreement will boost his chances against rival Likud Party candidate, Ariel Sharon, who opposes these talks.
Sharon has already said he opposes the idea of one final peace agreement and, if elected, would push for long-term interim accords instead. The Israeli peace boat was followed minutes later by another boat carrying Sharon supporters, chanting Likud campaign songs.
The Taba talks resumed after a two-day break caused by the recall of the Israeli delegation following the murder Tuesday of two Israelis in the West Bank. Palestinian negotiators complained that the departure of the Israelis slowed the momentum of the talks. They said the two sides had made some progress on the difficult issues before them, namely the demarcation of borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, and what they called a new understanding by the Israelis on the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Nevertheless, both sides say they are deeply divided on the major issues and doubt they can reach a final accord before the talks are due to end next week.
A close aide to PLO chief Arafat says the Palestinians cannot make the concessions needed to give Barak the deal that could clinch him victory in the polls. And, the advisor says, Barak cannot deliver the compromises that would let the Palestinians sign a deal either. The key obstacles remain the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the issue of sovereignty over a disputed holy site in East Jerusalem.
Informal contacts already have been made between Sharon's camp and the Palestinians. Three close advisers to Sharon, including his son, are expected to meet in Vienna with a senior aide to Arafat.
Just 10 days before the election, opinion surveys still show Sharon as the front runner with a 20 point lead. Political commentators say Barak can narrow the gap but probably not enough to reverse the trend.
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
