NEW YORK (September 7) (7 Elul 5760) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak took the world's stage yesterday at the UN Millennium Summit and, after reiterating the centrality and importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish people for the last 2,000 years, also acknowledged that the city is "cherished by our Palestinian neighbors."
"We recognize that Jerusalem is also sacred to Moslems and Christians the world over, and cherished by our Palestinian neighbors," Barak said. "A true peace will reflect all these bonds."
He pledged that "Jerusalem will remain united and open to all who love her."
A spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office said this marked the first time that an Israeli leader acknowledged a Palestinian connection to the capital in such terms.
His gesture was not reciprocated by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, who accused Israel of trying to "Judaize" the city and - although referring to it as the "cradle of Christ" and the point of Mohammed's ascension to heaven - did not acknowledge any Jewish connection to Jerusalem.
"We are confronting Israeli attempts at the Judaization of Jerusalem, land confiscation, and the building of Israeli illegal settlements, the siege of Bethlehem, and lack of implementation of agreements signed by Israel," Arafat said.
"Let this Millennium Summit be the beginning of the end of the greatest and most difficult refugee tragedy in the world," he said.
After their speeches, Clinton met with Barak for an hour at the nearby Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and the US leader was scheduled to meet with Arafat early this morning, and later on with other Arab leaders.
A senior official said after the Clinton-Barak meeting that it was still unclear what direction Arafat was taking, but added they hoped that "within the next couple of days the picture should become clearer." He said the parties were working against a deadline of early October, when Congress adjourns and the US public becomes focused on the election campaign.
The official said there were no plans yet to convene a three-way summit of Clinton, Barak, and Arafat, as earlier speculated.
Arafat was being pressed by world leaders, and told that the time has come to make "hard decisions," the official added.
In one of the only conciliatory remarks during his five-minute speech, Arafat said, "We have made a strategic decision committing ourselves to the peace process, making significant and painful concessions in order to arrive at reasonable compromises acceptable to both sides."
He said the Palestinians are willing to accept a state "on less than a quarter of the historic territory of Palestine, as well as numerous other suggestions pertaining to other aspects of our rights."
Regarding his threat to unilaterally declare a state on September 13, Arafat said the Palestinians had already delayed a declaration once - in May 1999 - and are aware that there are many countries that are advising against it now. The final decision, he said, will be made at the Palestinian National Council meeting in Gaza over the weekend.
Barak sat impassively throughout Arafat's address.
There was speculation that in his meeting with Arafat, Clinton would press him to accept one of various plans that have recently been floated regarding Jerusalem.
One American plan on Jerusalem reportedly has the Palestinians gaining sovereignty over Al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, Israel retaining sovereignty over the Old City's Jewish Quarter, and the Western Wall, with the Temple Mount plaza under "God's sovereignty."
Arafat has so far rejected all proposals that give him anything less than complete control of east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
Clinton said in a speech opening the three-day UN Millennium Summit, where dozens of presidents and prime ministers were scheduled to speak yesterday, that both Barak and Arafat have pledged "to resolve the final differences between them this year," and called on the international
community to support the peace process.Clinton's short speech focused briefly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Right now, from the Middle East to Burundi to the Congo to South Asia, leaders are facing this kind of choice, between confrontation and compromise," Clinton said. "Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak are with us here today. They have promised to resolve the final differences between them this year, finally completing the Oslo process embodied in the Declaration of Principles....
"To those who have supported the right of Israel to live in security and peace to those who have championed the Palestinian cause these many years, let me say to all of you, they need your support now, more than ever, to take the hard risks for peace," he said. "They have the chance to do it. But like all life's chances, it is fleeting and about to pass. There is not a moment to lose."
Arafat was followed to the podium by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara, who said there will be no solution in the Middle East until the refugees have the right to return, all the territories are ceded, and there is nuclear disarmament in the region.
Barak opened his brief speech with a quote from Micha: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." He said that, "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, now calls for a peace of honor, of courage, and of brotherhood."
Barak's speech was the 22nd of some 160 at the three-day conference, and - along with Arafat's - was one of only a few that met with applause. The addresses had a five-minute time limit.
Barak called on the Palestinians to compromise, saying that, "No side can achieve 100 percent of its dreams if we are to succeed. My government has shown, in negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians, as in our full implementation of UN Security Resolution 425, that it can make painful decisions for the sake of peace. It remains to be seen whether our counterparts are also capable of rising to the magnitude of the hour."
Stretching out his arm, Barak turned to Arafat and called out to him to, "Join me in this historic passage. We are at the Rubicon, and neither of us can cross it alone."
Referring to Arafat's threat to unilaterally declare a state, Barak said, "The member states of the United Nations can lend a pivotal hand by encouraging the difficult process of reconciliation, and by opposing any unilateral
measures, which may well spark a renewed cycle of violence and obliterate the prospects of peace."After delivering his speech, Barak went to a meeting late last night with French President Jacques Chirac, followed by the long-awaited discussion with Clinton. He was also slated to meet with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder late last night.
Earlier in the day, Barak held a 30-minute meeting with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, head of the world's most populous Islamic state. At that meeting, Barak pressed Wahid - who has visited Israel twice and is close to Shimon Peres - to use his influence to keep the Conference of Islamic Countries from taking extreme positions at its conference scheduled for Qatar in November.
According to Barak's office, Wahid told him that he met yesterday with Arafat, who understands that if he unilaterally declares a Palestinian state, he will not enjoy widespread international recognition.
Barak also had a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki, who stressed his country's "special relationship" with the Palestinians and with Arafat. Mbeki said he would meet Arafat and make clear to him "the need to make courageous decisions that are the key to reaching an agreement."
The summit comes only days before Monday's opening of UN General Assembly. It was convened by Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday when he rang the Japanese Peace Bell, which was cast from coins donated by children from 60 nations.
"Today let us hear the bell ring loud and clear and true to our conscience," he said. "Let it ring out a century of cruelty and destruction and let it ring in a millennium of hope and peace."
Annan has said he hopes the summit will call for halving extreme poverty by the year 2015, and plan to "strengthen UN peace operations and enable them to succeed in places where no other organization is able or willing to act."
"The problems seem huge," Annan said. "But in today's world, given the technology and the resources around, we have the means to tackle them. If we have the will, we can deal with them."
In his speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an international conference, to be held in Moscow, that would ban the militarization of space. That was seen as a response to American proposals for an antimissile defense system. "The new century of the United Nations must... go down in history as a period of real disarmament," he said.
Other speakers yesterday included Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, King Abdullah II of Jordan, French President Chirac, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and Cuban President Fidel Castro. (Marilyn Henry contributed to this report.) [ http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/09/07/News/News.11852.html ]
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