Barak, Arafat to meet soon to break deadlock in peace talks

Barak, Arafat to meet soon to break deadlock in peace talks
REUTERS

JERUSALEM, SEPT 25: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat are expected to meet in the next few days to try to break the deadlock in peace talks, officials on both sides said on Monday.

A senior Palestinian official said the two leaders could meet as early as Monday or Tuesday. They have not met since they failed to reach a peace agreement at a 15-day-long summit in the United States in July, and negotiations remain at an impasse.

``In fact, yes, it's possible to convene a meeting between President Abu Ammar (Yasser Arafat) and Barak soon, either today or tomorrow. This is something that has been agreed upon,'' Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told the Voice of Palestine Radio.

He said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators would head to Washington in the next few days to meet US officials who are trying to prepare bridging proposals in efforts to secure a peace deal before US President Bill Clinton's presidency ends.

``A meeting has not been scheduled yet,'' said a spokesman from Barak's office. But Israel's acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said he thought the meeting would take place later in the week.

He said it was intended to build trust between Arafat and Barak. Talks are blocked over emotive issues such as the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

Ben-Ami is due to visit Egypt and Jordan on Monday to enlist the help of President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah to break the deadlock in peacemaking.

All sides have said that if a peace deal is not sewn up before the US Presidential election in November, peacemaking could be sidelined for months while Clinton's successor as president settles into the job.

During his two terms as President, Clinton has helped steer Israel and the Palestinians towards a series of interim peace deals. He also brokered a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

Clinton hopes to cap his Presidency with a treaty between Israel and the Palestinians that could end decades of conflict.

``The Americans are investing deep and large energies and President Clinton is personally involved in internal contacts with the sides,'' Ben-Ami told Israel Radio.

Ben-Ami said there was still a chance the sides could forge a peace treaty that would resolve all issues.

But he said Israel was prepared to sideline the difficult issue of Jerusalem, the biggest stumbling block at the Camp David summit in July, and forge a partial deal.

Palestinian officials rule out an agreement that does not include a resolution to Jerusalem, the eastern part of which they want as the capital of a future state.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.

Israeli and Palestinian troops closed a road near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim after a group of Palestinian youths threw fire-bombs at Israeli soldiers.

No one was hurt in the incident which came after eight Palestinians were injured in a car accident with an Israeli vehicle on Sunday night. The area has been the scene of intense clashes in the past between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.