|
|
|
|
|
|
Middle East Peace Talks Collapse July 26, 2000 The Middle East peace summit at Camp David, Maryland, collapsed in failure on July 25 after 15 days of intense talks. However, in a news conference, President Clinton said significant progress had been made toward ending the 52-year-old conflict. The talks collapsed primarily over Jerusalem, neighborhoods of which Barak offered the Palestinians control over in exchange for an agreement that would expand the city's borders to include nearby Jewish settlements. Barak, who faces an uncertain coalition situation back home, said he had done his best to put an end to 100 years of conflict with the Palestinians, but that he had refused to do so at any cost. At a hastily called news conference before his departure, he put the blame squarely on Arafat, saying he "was afraid to take the necessary, historical responsibility at this moment to bring about an end of the conflict. The positions of Arafat on Jerusalem were those that prevented the achievement of an agreement." Arafat, who departed Andrews Air Force Base four hours after the summit's collapse, was unwilling to settle for anything less then full sovereignty over all of east Jerusalem. President Bill Clinton, who acknowledged that the talks stumbled primarily on Jerusalem, said progress had been made on all of the core issues but that gaps still remain. The US has not yet decided whether to convene a second summit before the September 13 deadline or what the next step will be, although Barak told reporters the US had agreed to send an envoy to the region soon. "Prime Minister Barak showed particular courage, vision, and an understanding of the historical importance of this moment. Chairman Arafat made it clear that he too remains committed to the path of peace," Clinton told reporters at a White House news conference. Israel made a wide range of offers to secure an end to the conflict, including ones that would allow the Palestinians to have a state with territorial contiguity but enable Israel to absorb 150,000 settlers into Israel, Barak said. Both sides explored and rejected the possibility of a partial agreement that omitted the issue of Jerusalem, Clinton said. "I carry the responsibility for the outcome of the summit," Barak told reporters before departing. "Our positions were legitimized by the Americans, and there is no doubt we went a very, very long way in trying to reach an agreement." According to Palestinian officials, the summit collapsed specifically over sovereignty over parts of the Old City, saying the breaking point came when Israel only offered the Palestinians some form of access to Al-Aksa Mosque. Clinton said that Barak's offers on Jerusalem had changed the nature of debate in Israel and rid the taboos surrounding the city. He emphasized that Barak had been more willing to compromise than Arafat, especially on Jerusalem. Albright, in a press conference at the State Department, called for a period of reflection over the next few weeks during which the sides would mull over what happened. Describing how events unfolded as the talks collapsed, she said it became clear around 1 or 2 a.m. July 25 that "there were gaps that could not be overcome in this session." At 3 a.m., Arafat handed Clinton a letter saying he could no longer continue talks at this stage. Hours later Barak ordered his team to ready for departure. At the summit's conclusion, the sides issued a trilateral statement in which they pledged to continue to try to bridge the gaps separating them on the key issues. But Barak, appearing confident while delivering his remarks, said that the negative outcome of the talks would "influence of course the third further redeployment or the comprehensive agreement negotiations." Clinton defended his decision to convene the summit despite its failure and pledged not to leave any stone unturned in the search for peace. Time, however, is "working against us," he said, in reference to the September 13 deadline. While the trilateral statement said the leaders both understand the importance of avoiding unilateral moves, it was not clear whether Arafat would postpone his promised declaration of statehood. Barak warned, however, that Israel would respond with its own unilateral measures should Arafat go ahead with the one-sided declaration before an agreement is reached. "The vision of peace has suffered a major blow but it can recuperate," Barak told reporters, promising not to allow the region to deteriorate into violence and urging fellow Israelis not to "lose hope." He called for national unity during the upcoming period of uncertainty. "We will now need to put our differences aside and work together to strengthen and protect Israel," he said. "On three things we are not willing to give up: On our security, on our holy city, and on the unity of our nation. If we are faced with the choice between giving up one of these or a confrontation - the choice is clear to every Israeli," he said.Barak and Arafat returned home July 26 to mixed receptions over the Camp David summit's failure to achieve a peace agreement. Even as Arafat got a hero's welcome in Gaza, thousands of Palestinian refugees protested in Lebanon, angry that he did not secure their return home. Still, Palestinians in Gaza -- most of them dancing and singing nationalist songs -- praised Arafat for not trading away his people's claim to the holy city of Jerusalem. Hours later, Barak landed at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. The Israeli leader will surely face a much more difficult re-entry in the days ahead. Right-wing leaders are angry at concessions Barak reportedly made at Camp David, while the left is disappointed that he didn't come home with a deal. Barak told gathered ministers and family members that he had gone to Camp David knowing there could never be "peace at any price, but also no peace without paying a certain price -- a price that is heart-rending and difficult to accept." However, he vowed not to give up despite the failure of the Camp David summit. "I left to complete the mission, because of which my predecessor (Yitzhak) Rabin was killed -- a secure peace for our children," Barak told the crowd at the airport. Barak said that although he is disappointed, he will not give up trying to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians. "It is so close, but it is still so far," he said. "I promise that I will not despair. I will not stop pursuing peace." Barak blamed Arafat for the failure of the peace talks. "I have to say in anguish that we have not yet succeeded," Barak said, "because we did not find a partner that was prepared for hard decisions on all topics." One of the immediate challenges for Barak will be to form a new government. Prior to his leaving for Camp David, two of his coalition partners -- Shas and the National Religious Party -- quit the government, leaving Barak with a minority in the 120-member Israeli Knesset. During a stopover in Egypt, Arafat said negotiations would go on until a previously agreed deadline of September 13. "The American side told us that they will continue with us," Arafat told reporters after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "There is an agreement between us and the Israeli government made in Sharm el-Sheikh that we continue negotiations until September 13, the date for declaring our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, whether people like it or not," Arafat said, referring to a 1999 Palestinian-Israeli interim accord. "Those who don't like this can drink from the Dead Sea," Arafat said before heading for the airport on his way to Gaza. Several Arab nations issued threats of renewed violence following the failure of the U.S.-brokered talks. Syria sounded a warning that the failure of the talks could trigger a fresh Palestinian uprising. Libya said Arabs might need to look for "other means" to confront what it called a Zionist expansionist plan backed by the United States. But Jordan, which like Egypt has signed a peace treaty with Israel, played up reports of progress in the talks and counted on U.S. President Bill Clinton to keep negotiations going. Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdulilah al-Khatib said he was heartened and confident that Clinton would not give up on his efforts before the September 13 deadline. More details of Israel's reported offer to the Palestinians at Camp David emerged while Barak was traveling home. Israel army radio, quoting a senior official, said that Barak had offered the Palestinians a capital in East Jerusalem, to be called Al-Quds, the Arabic name for the city, which would include some Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and other neighborhoods now outside the city. He also offered free passage to the Temple Mount, one of Islam's holiest sites, and religious freedom there. The word "sovereignty" was avoided, the report said. There were minor scuffles in the West Bank between teen-age Israeli settlers and Palestinians, but they were quickly stopped by Israeli police. Young Palestinians began stoning Israeli soldiers, but the troops, in riot gear, did not respond. The army chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz, said he would be meeting the commanders of Palestinian security forces with the aim of avoiding outbreaks of Palestinian violence following the failure of the summit. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said forces in the West Bank had not been beefed up, a move that would be perceived as a provocation. "We will do everything in our power to prevent any explosion of this kind," he said. Jewish settlers in the West Bank are afraid their settlements might be attacked. Sneh assured them that the government was committed to their defense and the army prepared to deal with any emergency. |
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The Generals'War
The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf
by Michael R. Gordon & Bernard E. Trainor
Gordon, the chief defense correspondent for The New York Times, and retired Marine general Bernard Trainor provide a definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the planning and execution of the Persian Gulf War.
