October 25, 2000
A senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday Palestinians want Europe, China, Russia and the United Nations, along with the United States, to take part in any future talks with Israel.
Ahmed Korei, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said trust between the Palestinians and Israel was shattered after the inconclusive Camp David summit in July. He said the Palestinians did not believe the old formula of having Washington as the sole power player in the peace process would work. "The resumption of talks should be based on a new formula and new basis because the old formula cannot be accepted any more and doesn't lead to a permanent deal - especially as Israel is trying to impose its own conditions through military means," Korei told a news conference.
At least 131 people have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian clashes over the past four weeks in the West Bank and Gaza. All but eight of the dead have been Palestinians or Israeli Arabs.
Korei said talks have to be resumed on the basis of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for Israel to withdraw from land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war in return for secure and recognised borders. "I think the EU, China, Russia and the United Nations should be involved with the U.S. to help in the negotiations," he added.
Palestinians have long demanded the participation of the U.N. and EU, believed to be more supportive of the Arabs, in the talks because they consider Washington, which has monopolised sponsorship of the peace process, biased towards Israel.
The former Soviet Union was co-sponsor of the peace process but its influence faded when it collapsed and Russia took over the role. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov made a round of visits to the region this month, but its exclusion from last week's crisis summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt was widely interpreted as a snub. Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have urged Moscow to become more involved in negotiations to halt the month-old bloodshed.
Palestinians believe they scored a success when the United States accepted the participation of the United Nations and the European Union at the Sharm el-Sheikh gathering. The summit ended with a statement read by U.S. President Bill Clinton calling for an end to the current wave of violence and an examination within two weeks of the possibility of renewing peace talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called a time-out in peacemaking this week, accusing Arafat of failing to implement the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings. Palestinian officials said their leadership's lack of trust in Barak and his government had increased with every Arab death and the use of what they and many in the international community see as excessive Israeli force.
Clinton has signalled he may step in again to try to restore calm. The White House signalled that Clinton might invite Arafat and Barak to Washington separately once the Sharm el-Sheikh deal is implemented.-Reuters
