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Palestinians Should Change Their Attitude Toward Talks: Ben-Ami
Israeli Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami Thursday stressed the Palestinians should "substantially" change their "uncompromisable stands" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Speaking after meeting with U.S. Mideast special envoy Dennis Ross in his Tel Aviv office, Ben-Ami promised Israel will keep making efforts to push forward the peace process, according to Israel Radio reports.
Ross, the first high-ranking U.S. official visiting Israel and the Palestinians self-rule areas since last month's Camp David talks breakdown, arrived in the region Thursday afternoon.
The meeting aimed to assess the progress that has been made since the Camp David talks and explore the idea of holding a "pre-summit" to iron out the two sides' differences over core issues ahead of a concluding summit between top leaders.
Hours ahead of the meeting, Ben-Ami told reporters that a second summit will only take place when Israel is certain that the Palestinians will show more flexibility in such a summit.
"The question of the summit is for the time being not really on the agenda. What is on the agenda is trying to detect any meaningful change in the positions on the other side," said Ben-Ami, who officially resumed the peace talks with two Palestinian senior negotiators Saeb Erekat and Mohammed Dahlan Wednesday night.
The Camp David summit, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton, lasted for 15 days in July but failed to reach an agreement due to significant gaps over the fate of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees.
Israeli negotiation teams accused the Palestinians of adopting uncompromisable stands on the two issues and rejecting many sensible proposals during the talks.
The Clinton administration now adopts a more cautious attitude toward a second summit until signs show that sufficient progress is made to warrant the summit's success.
Ben-Ami and Palestinian negotiators Erekat and Dahlan reportedly inclined to holding a "pre-summit" in Washington at the end of this month or in the beginning of next month.
Officials in Jerusalem said such talks, under the guidance of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, will enhance the prospects of success at a full-fledged summit later.
Ross is scheduled to meet with Barak on Friday before heading for the Palestinian areas. He will also go on vacation with his family at an undisclosed location in the region on Sunday.
Based on his reports, Clinton and Albright will then decide whether conditions are ripe for a concluding second summit for reaching a final Israeli-Palestinian accord.
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