Despite rhetoric, Arafat and Barak gearing up for next summit

JERUSALEM -- In public, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are blaming each other for what they term the failure of the peace summit at Camp David.

But privately, both sides regard the summit was a breakthrough and are preparing for another meeting next month that could lead to an agreement on final status issues.

Israeli and Palestinian officials agree that the end of the Camp David summit didn't mark a failure as much as a recess for Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to return to their constituencies and recruit support for the next round of negotiations. This, they said, was particularly true of Barak, who leads a minority coalition government.

"We know there are internal problems in Israel and that Barak really doesn't have a government," PLO Executive Committee member Faisal Husseini said. "We know there will be a continuation of the talks."

The result is that despite the rhetoric, neither Israeli nor Palestinian leaders expect a military confrontation in the wake of the summit. They said both sides -- supervised by the United States -- will ensure calm in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and especially in Jerusalem, the focus of the Camp David summit.

"We hope that sooner or later the talks will renew," deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said. "So, it would be a pity that there be violence in between."

Israeli and Palestinian officials said senior negotiators would resume talks on Sunday in Jerusalem. The negotiators would be led by PA minister Saeb Erekat and Israel's Oded Eran.

Israeli and Palestinian officials agree that the Camp David summit marked the first time that both the Israeli government and the public considered the prospect of losing eastern Jerusalem in any settlement. They said that despite Barak's insistence the next round of negotiations will take up where they left off at Camp David.

Barak aides said the prime minister offered to divide eastern Jerusalem into three zones. One would be neighborhoods under Palestinian control, others under Israeli control and the rest under temporary joint control. Barak also presented through President Bill Clinton a proposal to delay the fate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for several years.

In all, the Palestinian-controlled section of Jerusalem would be named Al Quds and declared as the capital of a Palestinian state, the aides said. The aides said the prime minister is willing to share administration of the Old City with the Palestinians and offered Arafat an office for the Palestinian presidency there.

But Barak insisted that the Temple Mount -- site of the ancient Jewish temple and two prominent mosques -- include a special spot for Jews to pray. Arafat would be granted access to the Temple Mount.

The prime minister was also ready to hand the Palestinians 88 percent of the West Bank and allow tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel in the guise of family reunification.

Israeli and Palestinian sources said Arafat rejected the proposals. He insisted on complete control over the entire eastern Jerusalem, particularly the Temple Mount. Arafat also demanded the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.

But some Palestinian officials -- particularly those who have been negotiating with Israel over the last two years -- were struck by Barak's new proposals. They said Israel and the Palestinians achieved agreement on as much as 85 percent of the issues at Camp David. The Old City of Jerusalem comprised most of the remaining disputes.

Arab diplomatic sources provide the following scenario. They said Barak will work over the next two weeks to expand his coalition and explain the proposals discussed at Camp David.

In late August, Clinton will convene another summit and this time, they said, Arafat and Barak are expected to arrive at either an agreement or framework accord that will divide Jerusalem, allow for the return of tens of thousands of refugees -- while delaying such demands as the Palestinian right of return and sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The key issue, they said, will be the Israeli demand for the Palestinians to declare an end to their dispute with Israel.

This, the Arab sources said, will be the most difficult for the 71-year-old Arafat.

As Clinton put it, the success of any agreement signed by Arafat and Barak depends on how it is presented to the Israelis and Palestinians. "The decision that will have to be made is whether there is a way for the Palestinians to win their fundamental interests without also winning the right to say they have routed the Israelis," Clinton said, "or whether there's a way for the Israelis to protect their fundamental interests without also winning the right to say they have stuck it to the Palestinians."