Israeli PM Says Negotiation Ball Now in the Palestinians' CourtIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that in terms of the negotiations with the Palestinians, the ball is now in Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's court.Speaking at Sunday morning's weekly cabinet meeting, Barak stressed that it should be the Palestinians who will decide whether or not to move toward a peace deal, according to a statement issued by his office. If Arafat decides not to renew efforts, the statement added, he must then "bear the responsibility for the deadlock which is liable to be created." The most recent peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians at the Camp David of the US last month failed to reach an agreement over core final-status issues to pave the way for a permanent peace deal by September 13. Amid lower level talks between the two sides, Israeli and Palestinian leaders launched an international campaign respectively to explicate their stands on the talks. Barak claimed Sunday that in such diplomatic contacts, most of the world understands that the ball is in Arafat's court. "This is a tangible sign of both Israel's diplomatic achievement and the turnaround in our international position," Barak said. He said he believes the coming few weeks will be crucial for the peace process as Arafat makes a decision. The two leaders are all scheduled to meet with US President Bill Clinton at the United Nations millennium summit in New York next month. Barak accused the Palestinians of adopting an uncompromising position regarding the talks, saying that "while only one side is necessary to force a confrontation, an agreement requires both sides." The status of Jerusalem, housing holy sites to Jews, Muslims and Christians, is the sticking point in the peace talks. Israel, which seized the Arab East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it later, declared the whole city as its "undivided and eternal capital" while the Palestinians want the east part as the capital of their future state. Earlier, Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker and chief negotiator Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) told the Voice of Palestine radio that no Israeli-Palestinian deal is possible unless Israel promises a full withdrawal from East Jerusalem and all the occupied territories. On peace talks with Syria, Barak said Sunday that he had told French President Jacques Chirac during a telephone contact Saturday night that Israel had made a strategic choice for peace with Syria and believes that an agreement must honor both sides' interests and rights. The prime minister added that from his point-of-view, the door is still open to negotiations with Syria. The Israeli-Syrian talks had been in stalemate since January due to the two sides failed to bridge their differences over the return of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. |
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