Wednesday, October 25 2000 01:32 26 Tishri 5761

Egyptian FM: Current peace process over By Herb Keinon and Lamia Lahoud

JERUSALEM (October 25) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa took Prime Minister Ehud Barak's time-out in the negotiations one step further this week, telling a leading Lebanese newspaper that the peace process in its current form is finished.

Moussa, in an interview with A-Safir, was quoted yesterday as saying: "The peace process in its present form is over. No Arab or Palestinian leaders will agree to return to the negotiating table according to the previous rules. The Arabs should now give first priority to help the Palestinians in opposing the Israeli occupation. The Arab world should determine a new and final framework for a solution according to the Arab perception."

Barak, on a tour to Kiryat Malachi, spun Moussa's comments in a positive light, saying that these words indicate that "there is an understanding in the Arab world that [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat and the PA, in their decision not to reach an agreement with us that was within reach, but rather to choose the path of violence, have taken upon themselves a heavy responsibility that changes the character of the process."

Barak said that there is no way to force the other side to accept an agreement, and as a result Israel must stand firm and united to defend its own interests.

"At the moment the PA and Arafat have chosen the path of conflict in an attempt to make us fold and to get us to surrender our vital interests through force," he said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials warned that the PA is preparing for a long and bloody conflict with Israel.

"When Barak chose to form a coalition with Likud leader Ariel Sharon, he killed the peace process," said Hussein a-Sheikh, a leader of the Tanzim in the West Bank. "We will continue the intifada and escalate it until independence - until we liberate east Jerusalem and get rid of the settlers."

Barak tried to discourage further confrontations with the Palestinians. "With violence, they will not gain a thing. We will know how to act and stand united against violence to win," he said.

Meanwhile, amid increasing reports that Israel is drawing up a plan to separate itself from the Palestinians, Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said that Israel will not initiate unilateral actions, and hopes that the PA "will put an end to the violence and it will be possible to return to a negotiated settlement. Israel is opposed to unilateral action."

The much discussed Israeli plans for a unilateral separation are widely believed to be a message to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat that if he unilaterally declares a state on November 15, as he has threatened, then Israel will take unilateral steps of its own.

The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza put out a statement condemning the separation plans, for fear it would involve moving settlers out of their homes.

"The people that have awakened from an imaginary peace will not agree to give Arafat a prize for violence in the form of transferring Jews out of their homes," the statement said.

Barak spoke by phone yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and urged them to use their influence on Arafat to end the current violence. Israel Radio said that Ben-Ami telephoned several European counterparts, asking them to use their influence to persuade Arafat to cease the violence and adhere to the Sharm e-Sheikh accord.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, a-Shiekh said there is no way for the PA to continue living together side-by-side with the settlers. "We are ready to sacrifice our blood because we are convinced that we can get our state through the intifada," he said, adding that if negotiations resume, the Palestinians will reevaluate the situation.

Arafat has called his government to Gaza for continuous meetings, according to Bassam Abu Sharif, an adviser of his. Abu Sharif said Arafat hopes doves in the Labor Party will revolt against a Barak-Sharon coalition. He will also count on international pressure to force Israel to implement UN resolutions, a Palestinian official said.

Arafat is scheduled to meet today with UN special peace envoy Terje Larsen to discuss the commission of inquiry into the last three weeks of violence.

David Rudge adds:

Speaking at a forum of council heads in Upper Nazareth, Ben-Ami asked why Israeli Arabs had taken to the streets over the so-called "Al-Aksa" issue.

"I turn to Israeli Arabs. Does anybody think that there is a sane person in this country, this government, who wants to harm the sacredness of Islam, who wants to harm Al-Aksa? We have had sovereignty over the Temple Mount for 30 years and we have never changed the status quo. Under our (Israel) sovereignty, the biggest mosque in the Middle East has been constructed," Ben-Ami said.

Margot Dudkevitch contributed to this report.

http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/10/25/News/News.14286.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), October 24, 2000