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Journalism of Courage
JERUSALEM, AUG 30: Palestinian and Israeli negotiators failed for the third time in 24 hours on Sunday to resolve sticking points on how to implement the Wye accord following tough talk by each side’s leadership.
The negotiations, held in a West Jerusalem hotel, stumbled over the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners, a source close to the Israeli negotiating team said.
As the talks proceeded, the secretary general of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s office said in Gaza, “If the prisoners issue isn’t sealed at the bargaining table, there will be no agreement on the Wye Memorandum.”
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, speaking for Arafat at a conference on prisoners, said: “There will be no peace without freedom for all the prisoners, including those of Jerusalem and other political groups, so they can help build the Palestinian state.”
The Palestinian minister in charge of the prisoners’ issue, Hisham Abdelrazek, said that Israel “undertook at Wye to release 750 prisoners, but only freed 100,” He added,“We demand the release of 650 detainees out of the 2,000 in Israeli jails”.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said, “Their number is not under discussion at this time and there is no question of freeing even one Hamas or Islamic Jihad detainee…When this issue is resolved by the negotiating teams, the agreement will be submitted to the cabinet for approval.”
But he warned the Palestinians that last week’s agreements on how to implement portions of the Wye accord will not be put into practice unless all the wrinkles are ironed out.
“Satisfactory responses were again not provided by the Palestinian party at the end of the Sunday afternoon meeting,” the second such session in 24 hours.
“If no agreement is obtained in the coming hours,” he said, he will consider “ordering the Wye accord implemented to the letter.” In this case, the accord would “not serve the interests of either side particularly well.”
Barak had been more positive earlier in the day, saying an agreement with thePalestinians on implementing Wye could be reached before US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright arrives in Israel Thursday. Such an agreement might be signed in Cairo in Albright’s presence, he said.
The Wye River accord, concluded in October in the United States, provides for 750 Palestinian prisoners to be released in three groups and three partial Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu carried out the first pullback and released 250 prisoners before freezing the accord, saying the Palestinians were not holding up their end of the deal.
Of those already freed, 150 were common criminals rather than the political prisoners expected by the Palestinian Authority.
Israel insists that it will free only 500 more, including some common criminals, and opposes the release of those who have killed Israelis or belong to armed organisations.
After Barak took office in July, he began talks with the Palestinians on how to implement the accord. He also wants the talksto lay out the framework for a final-status agreement on the thorniest issues: Palestinian statehood, borders, Jerusalem, refugees and water sharing.
Israelis and Palestinians have been negotiating on Wye and the final-status framework for more than two weeks. On Wednesday they agreed in principle on an Israeli military pullback in the West bank.
But agreement on the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails has proved more elusive.
According to Israeli radio, an aide to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was attempting to smooth the way.
Ussama al-Baz, arriving unexpectedly, met Israeli officials before going to meet Arafat in the West Bank, sources from both sides said. Baz was scheduled to have talks in Jerusalem later Sunday with Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy.
