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Israel's Barak to Meet Palestinian Leader Arafat
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, either in the Egyptian Capital of Cairo or in the Jordanian Capital of Amman, in the next few days, Jerusalem Post's internet Radio station reported Friday, December 1.
More and more signs showed that such a meeting will take place and the two leaders will discuss essential measures for ending the clashes that have been raging for two months, the radio quoted reliable sources as saying.
The Prime Minister's Office did not confirm or deny the report. Earlier in the week, Egyptian officials reportedly denied similar reports as rumors.
Barak agreed to hold general elections, two years earlier than schedule, after he realized he could not defeat the bills sponsored by the oppositions. The bills on dissolving the parliament and holding early elections later passed the first reading vote, but need to pass two more readings to become laws.
It was widely believed that Barak' only chance for winning the election is to resume peace talks with the Palestinians on a fast track and finally reach a peace deal, turning the elections into a referendum between war and peace.
Barak's popularity slid significantly against that of former hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in various polls in the past few months, mainly because of his awkward handling of the peace process and the ongoing clashes with the Palestinians.
To Barak's relief, two of his most serious contenders in the primaries in his Labor party, Shimon Peres and Avraham Burg, decided not to challenge Barak's leadership for the time being.
Peres, former prime minister and a Nobel Peace laureate, told Israel Radio Friday that it was almost certain he would not challenge Barak for the right to run as the Labor Party's candidate in elections.
"What's on the agenda today is not who the candidate is, but what the issue is. The central question is not who we will elect, but what (direction) we will choose -- prolonging the war, or bringing it to a complete end," said Peres.
Meanwhile, Knesset Speaker Burg also announced Friday morning that for the time being he will not challenge Barak's party leadership.
This was the first time that Burg announced his intention in the premiership, a topic which he repeatedly denied to touch in the past few days.
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