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Barak says peace deal is crucial

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December 25, 2000 

JERUSALEM-- (UNB/AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that now was the time to make a major push for a Mideast peace deal, but Palestinians were more cautious, saying key differences remained following talks this past week in Washington.

Meanwhile, the three months of Mideast violence scared away Christian pilgrims and put a damper on Christmas Eve festivities in Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in Bethlehem by helicopter to attend the subdued services, which were largely devoid of the Christian visitors from abroad who traditionally visit the town just south of Jerusalem.

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators returned from their talks in Washington, and details began to emerge, Israel appeared willing to make additional compromises on east Jerusalem and the final borders of a Palestinian state.

But in return, Israel expected the Palestinians to scale back their demands on the "right of return" for millions of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in Mideast wars.

"We are talking about a difficult discussion for both sides on the most painful of issues," Barak said. "If we don't make an agreement and we drift, God forbid, into a situation of deterioration there will be cracks in other peace deals," he said in reference to Israel's existing peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

Barak warned that in another five or 10 years Israel could be facing a "completely different Middle East" with an increase in weapons of mass destruction, Islamic fundamentalism, and a rise in terrorism, he said.

The Israelis and Palestinians are to respond to the latest proposals by Wednesday, and if they see the potential for progress, Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are likely to travel separately to Washington for talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Clinton would then decide whether it was worth convening a Mideast summit, said Israel's Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami.

Time is running short for a deal under Clinton's watch. He leaves office in four weeks, while Barak faces an uphill battle for re-election as prime minister on Feb. 6. If a peace deal is negotiated, Barak has said he will consider the election a referendum on the agreement.

Israeli newspapers on Sunday published what they said were details of Clinton's proposals put forward at the Washington talks:

- A Palestinian state would be established on 95 percent of the West Bank and 100 percent of the Gaza Strip. Israel would be sovereign over the remaining 5 percent of the West Bank which includes Jewish settlement blocs.

- Israel, which currently claims sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, would concede control of the Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem to the Palestinians, including most of the walled Old City. Palestinians would also have control over the disputed Al Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City, an extremely sensitive site sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

- A special body would be established to deal with Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven out in past wars. Most refugees would be settled in the countries where they currently reside - Jordan, Syria and Lebanon - and some would be absorbed into Palestinian areas. Only a limited number would be permitted to resettle inside Israel.

However, the Palestinians were not as upbeat as the Israelis when asked about the prospects for a deal before Clinton leaves office.

Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that "until now there is not enough flexibility in the Israeli position to encourage us to say we are close to reaching an agreement."

Ben-Ami, who headed the Israeli delegation to Washington, said that Israel would not neglect Jewish ties to the Al Aqsa mosque compound.

Built on the ruins of the ancient Jewish temple, the holiest shrine in Judaism, the mosque compound is known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims who revere it as the third holiest site in Islam.

"Our goal is to safeguard the special connection of the Jewish people to this holy site and we will continue to fight for it and move forward on the issue," Ben-Ami told Israel radio.

Meanwhile, undercover Israeli soldiers carried out an undercover operation in the West Bank near Nablus, arresting 14 Palestinians believed to be activists in the militant Islamic group Hamas and suspected of planning attacks against Israel.

Israel has increasingly taken the initiative in the 3-month-old outburst of violence that has claimed more than 340 lives, most of them Palestinian. The Palestinians say the Israeli actions include carrying out assassinations against Palestinian activists.