By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators said they have failed to reach an agreement after four days of inconclusive discussions in Washington on Jerusalem and other final status issues.
Speaking after a meeting with President Clinton at the White House on Saturday, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the two sides failed to overcome their differences on the issues of Jerusalem, security, refugees and borders.
"We would like to see an agreement during President Clinton's presidency," Erekat said. "Major gaps still exist," he said, even with Clinton offering ideas to the delegations.
When asked about the possibility of Clinton hosting another summit, Erekat said there was little discussion of that.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, speaking in front of the Oval Office at the White House, told reporters that "inevitable differences remain" after nearly a week of serious talks.
Erekat said he would report to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Ben-Ami said he would do the same with Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Ben-Ami said the next step to be taken might be decided by Wednesday.
On Friday, Ben-Ami told American Jewish leaders that his government is prepared to surrender Israeli sovereignty over the Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. According to a transcript of the conversation provided by one of the participants to the Washington Post.
In his conference call with American Jewish leaders, Ben-Ami said Clinton was also considering a plan to invite Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Washington for separate talks, after which Clinton would decide whether to bring them together for a summit.
Ben-Ami noted that as a practical matter, under arrangements worked out after Israel's occupation of the Old City from Jordan in 1967, the Palestinians already are "in almost full control of . . . the upper surface of the Mount," or Haram Al-Sharif. "So I think that we need to find a solution that turns the practical conditions on the ground into a binding reality in the agreement, but at the same time preserves the uniqueness of the link between the Jewish people and the Temple Mount," Ben-Ami said.
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