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Barak rules out Islamic sovereignty over Jerusalem shrine |
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September 19, 2000
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Monday ruled out Islamic sovereignty over a key Jerusalem shrine sacred to Muslims and Jews, formally rejecting a Palestinian compromise proposal. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, when told of Barak's response, said, wagging his finger: "It's not up to him to decide." Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are hung up because of a sovereignty dispute over the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary. Barak and Arafat accused each other of intransigence Monday and blamed each other for the deadlock. Still, mid-level negotiations were to resume later in the day. Progress is deemed unlikely before the United States issues its own bridging proposals. Palestinian officials said it is not clear when the U.S. ideas will be submitted to the negotiators. Abdel Rahim Malouh, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said he was given to understand that the United States would first present its ideas verbally, and after gauging Israeli and Palestinian reaction, would put them in writing. The document would also summarize understandings reached at the Mideast summit at Camp David in July. Both sides have accused each other of backtracking on proposals made at Camp David. The main dispute is over who will be sovereign on the holy compound, once the site of the Jewish Temple, the holiest shrine of Judaism, and today home to two major mosques that mark the spot where tradition says Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. The Palestinians have insisted on sovereignty over traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy shrines. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has said the only other option he was willing to consider was to hand sovereignty over the Haram as-Sharif to the Islamic world's Jerusalem Committee. Israel has said it is willing to relinquish parts of east Jerusalem, but not the Temple Mount. Still, Barak has suggested he is open to creative ideas concerning sovereignty over the Temple Mount, as long as it is not given to the Palestinians. On Monday, Barak told his Cabinet ministers that "Israel is not only opposed to transferring sovereignty on the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but it is also absolutely opposed to transferring sovereignty on the Mount to any Muslim body." Arafat, who met Monday with Christian leaders in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, said it was not up to Israel to decide who will be sovereign over the Old City's shrines. "This is a Muslim, Christian and Arab decision," he said. Both sides said no progress has been made in the negotiations. "No movement in the Palestinian position is perceptible and therefore it is not yet clear if there is a partner on the other side who is ready to make decisions and an agreement," said a statement by Barak's office. Arafat's adviser, Nabil Aburdeneh, said talks were frozen. "President Arafat agreed with President Clinton that we are going to give four to five weeks in order to safe the peace process," he said. "So far, the Israelis have already wasted more than one week without serious negotiations." |
