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| By Israel Insider staff April 29, 2008 |
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Top Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia was fuming with his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, after she presented maps proposing that Israel retain large settlement blocs, the Jordan River Valley and Jerusalem.
Qureia angrily rejected the proposed map, reportedly grabbing the map spread out on the table in front of him and pushing it away with both hands. He also vehemently rejected the insistence of Defense Minister Ehud Barak that a special security arrangement be made for a mountain ridge in Palestinian territory east of Ben Gurion Airport.
"Right below us is the Ben Gurion Airport, a vital and sensitive region. We must ensure that if and when there political deals are made, we weigh in on the defense implications and the need to maintain control over security, de-facto, in the entire region," said Barak. "Special arrangements will have to made here," he added.
Qureia retorted that Barak "can say whatever he wants, but the determining factor will be the negotiations and the outcome of the talks. "On principle, we know what our rights are and will fight for them using all means and ways. We reject any demand, any position, or any Israeli statement regarding territory outside the 1967 borders."
A senior Palestinian official told Ynet that Barak's comments didn't surprise him in the least. "Once he blew-up the Camp David talks and blamed it on Arafat and now he is panicking that the current negotiations may succeed. That is why he doing all this and making declarations that sour the atmosphere. Barak has taken the Labor party from the peace camp to the side of settlers and extremists. He poses an obstacle to the talks."
"Among the three core issues being discussed in the negotiations the borders are considered the least problematic. The matter of the Palestinian refugees and sovereignty over Jerusalem are far more complex and sensitive. This incident just clarifies how far we are from an agreement," ynet quoted a senior Israeli official close to the proceedings as saying.
Foreign Minister Livni's office said in response that "the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are not held in public. Furthermore, until everything is agreed upon, nothing is agreed. Conducting ourselves in the limelight has never contributed to achieving our goals "
A senior Palestinian official confirmed the confrontation over the borders, including the anger that has been accompanying talks. |
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