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Peacemaking uncertain, Clinton fails to breakthrough |
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September 8, 2000
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Mideast peacemaking lurched toward an uncertain future after U.S. President Bill Clinton failed to produce a breakthrough in meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. Millennium Summit. Clinton's back-to-back sessions Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were widely seen as perhaps the last chance for the three leaders to secure a deal, though the White House said peace efforts would continue. "We did not expect today to be a breakthrough day in the process," said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. "That is true, but the process has not broken down." Despite dimming prospects, the Clinton administration kept up its diplomatic effort. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright went from a dinner with the Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, to Barak's hotel for an unscheduled meeting with the Israeli leader just before midnight. Wednesday's inconclusive meetings came just a week before the Sept. 13 deadline for a final Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty. Arafat has reserved the right to proclaim statehood, even without Israel's blessing, on that day, but has said a final decision is up to the PLO's top policy-making body, which is to convene Saturday. Arafat has hinted that the PLO council was likely to delay a statehood proclamation until later this year. Lockhart dismissed Sept. 13 as "an artificial date." Clinton cautioned that the opportunity for a peace agreement "is fleeting and about to pass," and found Israelis and Palestinians in rare agreement that not much time is left to reach an accord. However, both Barak and Arafat said Wednesday that they could not yield any further ground, especially on Jerusalem, the holy city claimed by both peoples as a capital. In a rare gesture, Barak acknowleged rival claims to the city, saying in his U.N. summit address that "we recognize that Jerusalem is also sacred to Muslims and Christians the world over, and cherished by our Palestinian neighbors." Arafat did not reciprocate, omitting any mention of Jewish ties to the city. Barak has rejected Palestinian demands for sovereignty over all of traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, including the walled Old City and its holy shrines. The Israeli leader has said he would not give up control over the Temple Mount, former home of the Jewish Temples, and now the third holiest site of Islam, with two mosques marking the spot where the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. A U.S. compromise proposal, according to Palestinian officials, would give Israel sovereignty over the Western Wall, one of the remnants of the Temple, while the Palestinians would have control over the mosques. The remaining areas in the walled compound, known to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, would be placed under divine sovereignty. In his speech to the United Nations, Arafat again pressed his demands for full control over all of east Jerusalem. Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia, while not responding directly to the purported U.S. proposal, said that "I don't expect an agreement over the city, unless the Americans bring something new." Israel has expressed willingness to consider creative ideas on Jerusalem, but has said Arafat must give a little first. "We have not heard from Mr. Arafat that he is budging even one millimeter," said Rabbi Michael Melchior, an Israeli Cabinet minister who is traveling with Barak. Both Barak and Arafat used the summit, attended by more than 150 world leaders, to try and win backing for their positions. Barak's aides said the prime minister encountered widespread recognition among heads of state that the time has come for Arafat to make hard decisions. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who met with Barak late Wednesday, sought an unscheduled meeting with Arafat on Thursday. The chancellor was interested in helping the sides overcome "psychological hurdles," said a German government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Palestinians dismissed Israeli complaints that Arafat may not be ready for peace. "These are (Israeli) bargaining tactics," said Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath. "Arafat is ready because his people really want freedom." However, negotiators faced great uncertainty. Clinton's direct mediation is seen as the only way to make progress, but after Wednesday's inconclusive meetings it was unclear how much more the president could achieve in his remaining two days at the U.N. summit. Arafat was poised to leave for the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip by Friday. Barak has said he would give peacemaking only a few more weeks, and that he would invite a hawkish opposition party to stabilize his shaky coalition once he felt all peacemaking options have been exhausted. |