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Barak Plays Down Expectations on Talks With Palestinians
Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak has repeated his pessimistic assessment of the imminent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that are to begin in Egyptian resort city of Taba on Sunday evening.
"In the short time left, with the gaps that exist, the chance of bridging them is not great," he told Army Radio on Sunday.
Palestine Council Speaker and chief negotiator Ahmad Qurei, who is also called Abu Ala, told the Palestinian official newspaper Al Ayyam on Sunday that if there is progress in the talks they can lead to a summit between Barak and Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Barak, however, believes the chances of reaching an agreement before the February 6 prime ministerial elections are very low. The high-level negotiations are expected to last from a week to 10 days.
Barak's "peace cabinet" composed of ministers and senior politicians involved in peace efforts Saturday accepted the proposal raised by Arafat to hold the non-stop marathon peace talks in the Red Sea resort of Taba in a bid to clinch a framework deal on the final-status issues based on former U.S. President Bill Clinton's peace proposal.
The Israeli negotiating team will be led by Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, Tourism Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, while Barak and Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres will direct the team.
The Palestinian team will be headed by Arafat himself and his presence is expected to facilitate the decision-making process. The Palestinian team will include Abu Ala and Chief of Preventive Security Forces for the Gaza Strip Mohammed Dahlan.
In response to criticism that the peace cabinet decided to attend the talks just two days after a sixteen-year-old Israeli was lured and apparently murdered by masked Palestinians near the West Bank town of Ramallah, Barak said that Israel has no choice but to attend peace talks.
Barak refused to comment on the weekend's opinion polls that put him between 18 and 20 points behind opposition Likud prime ministerial candidate Ariel Sharon in the race.
He also refused to discuss the possibility of withdrawing his candidacy in favor of former Premier Shimon Peres who has a much better standing in the public opinion polls.
As the prime ministerial election draws near, Barak's Labor and the right-wing Likud have stepped up accusations against each other in the national campaign to attract swaying voters.
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