Israel may agree to share sovereignty over Jerusalem

An impasse over the highly charged issue of Jerusalem almost led to the collapse of the marathon peace negotiations at the Camp David US presidential retreat in Maryland, with both Israel and the Palestinians coveting it as their capital.

Minister without portfolio Michael Melchior said Barak has agreed to a US proposal that Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian authority could have joint sovereignty over certain areas in the eastern sector which is home to about 200,000 Arabs.

"We are speaking of administrative powers plus’ with signs of sovereignty, a type of of joint sovereignty over these districts but excluding the old city," he told public radio.

The ancient walled old city, a labyrinth of cobbled streets covering about one square kilometre is home to sites holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims.

In an unprecedented remark, dovish Justice Minister Yossi Beilin challenged the "myth" of a united Jerusalem and said it should not prevent Israel from making a historic peace with the Palestinians after decades of bloody conflict.

Israel captured East jerusalem in the 1967 six-day war and claims it as part of its eternal undivided capital, a position not recognised by the international community.

The Palestinians want the sector as the capital of an independent state they have vowed to declare by September 13, the deadline for a final peace deal.

As the Camp David summit entered its 11th day, Melchior said Israel could annex as part of Jerusalem several nearby Jewish settlements in the occupied West bank, thereby strengthening its hold on the city.

"There is no question of Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem so this proposal does not put at risk Barak’s red lines,’" he said.

But the Palestinians insisted they must have full control over the sector and accused Israel of sending up trial balloons.

"The Palestinian position is that it should have full sovereignty in East Jerusalem which was occupied in 1967. That was the negotiating position," Palestinian minister of parliamentary affairs Nabil Amr said.

But Israel’s hawkish opposition leader Ariel Sharon accused Barak of negotiating like an amateur and breaking his promise to protect Jerusalem’s unity.

"Barak has violated his promise to look after the unity of Jerusalem. If he had revealed his intentions he would not have been elected," Sharon, leader of the Likud party, told public radio.

In some parts of Jerusalem, posters apparently put up by Jewish extremists declared: "Barak is betraying Jerusalem."