PARIS : ‘After Peace’ Talks
Although Israeli-Palestinian efforts at peacemaking have nearly stalled, France is organizing a major international conference this weekend to explore the question of “After Peace, What Future?” for the Middle East and the Mediterranean Basin.
With French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur as the chairman, the conference is scheduled to bring together Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amir Moussa and Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan plus other officials and specialists from the Mediterrean region.
The hottest issues will probably be the future of Jerusalem, a city holy to three great faiths and claimed as a capital by both Israelis and Palestinians, the continuing plight of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories.
The conference participants will also discuss economic cooperation across the once-hostile borders of the Middle East, arms reduction and “societies of tolerance” in which Jews, Christians and Muslims might live in harmony.
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