By
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday his aim was to put an end to Israeli rule over the Palestinians as the two sides launched a major push for a breakthrough in talks at an Egyptian resort.
But Barak, who trails badly in opinion polls as a Feb. 6 election approaches, also said he was holding firm on the key issues that led to breakdowns in previous peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Up to 10 days of intensive talks were set to start Sunday evening at the Red Sea resort of Taba. The negotiations were seen as Barak's last opportunity to reach some sort of agreement and boost his electoral prospects before the election.
"I promise ... to end the occupation and the rule over another people," Barak said on army radio.
However, no final deal appeared possible without agreement on Jerusalem's most contested religious site and the fate of some 4 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants. On these most sensitive issues, Barak also made a promise to Israelis that may preclude the possibility of an accord.
"Israel will not accept under any circumstances the right of return of (Palestinian) refugees to Israel," Barak said, rejecting a fundamental Palestinian demand. And he added: "As prime minister I will not sign any document which hands over sovereignty on the Temple Mount to the Palestinians."
The Temple Mount, which the Palestinians call the Haram as-Sharif, is revered by both Jews and Muslims. Israel claims sovereignty over the shrine inside Jerusalem's walled Old City, while the Muslims have effective day-to-day control.
Also, the Israeli government said it would insist that 80 percent of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip be allowed to remain under Israeli sovereignty. That would cover about 160,000 of the nearly 200,000 settlers currently in those areas.
The Palestinians proposed the talks in Egypt and said they were ready to explore all possibilities, but would not be pressed by Israel's election schedule.
"We are going to discuss all issues with the hope of reaching an agreement," Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said Sunday in Gaza before leaving for Egypt. But, he added, "We are not going to make an agreement just because time is running out."
Shaath cited the refugee issue as the one where the largest gaps remained.
The talks are expected to focus on recent proposals by former President Clinton, who left office Saturday. The Clinton proposals call for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, 95 percent of the West Bank and Arab areas of east Jerusalem.
Israel and the Palestinians have accepted Clinton's plan in principle, but both have added significant reservations. Barak, for example, has been reluctant to give Palestinians full control over the Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.
The new U.S. president, George W. Bush, is likely to keep his distance from the peace process. But Palestinian negotiators have appealed to Bush to get actively involved.
Barak appears to have little hope of re-election next month without progress in the negotiations. He is roughly 20 percentage points behind his hawkish opponent, Ariel Sharon, according to recent polls.
