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Barak accuses Palestinians of foot-dragging in peace talks |
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June 2, 2000
Barak spoke just ahead of a 40-minute briefing with U.S. President Bill Clinton on the peace negotiations and Israel's abrupt withdrawal from Lebanon. Israel and the Palestinians have been holding talks since November on the terms of Palestinian independence including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jewish settlements.
An Israeli official said on condition of anonymity that the talks, which have been moved from Sweden to the Middle East, resumed but Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denied that they had.
"There is an Israeli invitation but the Palestinian negotiation committee is still studying this issue," Arafat told reporters in the Gaza Strip.
Barak said Thursday that recently, Palestinians have been slow to engage seriously in negotiations.
"I have to say that, in recent days, in the past two weeks, there has been foot-dragging by the Palestinians. I hope we will overcome this," Barak said.
Barak said Israel and the Palestinians were at an important crossroad and that Israel would make every possible effort to reach the outline of a peace agreement as quickly as possible. The two sides face a Sept. 13 deadline for a full accord.
The Israeli leader said clashes in mid-May that erupted from Palestinian riots in which Palestinian police and activists opened fire on Israeli troops, was "something that is impossible in the context of the peace process." Israel and the Palestinians are at odds over which should come first - an additional troop pullback in the West Bank or the blueprints for a peace accord. Barak reiterated Thursday that it made more sense to forge ahead with the framework agreement rather than get bogged down in talks over an additional Israel withdrawal.
The Palestinians disagree, saying that the pullback was an Israeli commitment that should be kept. Arafat, who now controls 40 percent of the West Bank, hopes to increase the land base for a future Palestinian state before cutting a final deal with Israel.
There had been prospects for a summit in June between Clinton, Barak and Arafat but little progress has been made so far.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is slated to visit the region next week in an effort to bolster the attempts at a final agreement, a senior Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.
Israel is considering a Palestinian demand that 230 Palestinians held in Israeli jails be released in the next phase. Israel has resisted, saying the detainees had been involved in attacks on Israelis. Tensions over Israel's refusal to free detainees was a central reason for the West Bank clashes last month that left six Palestinians dead.
Some 1,200 of the 1,650 Palestinian prisoners ended a 31-day hunger strike Wednesday after Israeli authorities agreed to ease their prison conditions, said Kadura Fares, a Palestinian legislator overseeing prisoner affairs.
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