Barak Calls for Peace Push; Palestinians Less Optimistic

Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that now is the time to make a major push for a Mideast peace deal, but Palestinians were more cautious, saying key differences remained after talks last week in Washington.

Meanwhile, the three months of Mideast violence scared away Christian pilgrims and put a damper on Christmas Eve festivities in Bethlehem, the town of Jesus’ birth. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat arrived in Bethlehem by helicopter to attend the subdued services, which were largely devoid of the Christian visitors from abroad who traditionally visit the town just south of Jerusalem.

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators returned from their talks in Washington, and details began to emerge, Israel appeared willing to make additional compromises on East Jerusalem and the final borders of a Palestinian state.

But in return, Israel expected the Palestinians to scale back their demands on the “right of return” for millions of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in Mideast wars.

“We are talking about a difficult discussion for both sides on the most painful of issues,” Barak said. “If we don’t make an agreement and we drift, God forbid, into a situation of deterioration, there will be cracks in other peace deals,” he said, referring to Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

Barak warned that in five or 10 years, Israel could be facing a “completely different Middle East” with an increase in weapons of mass destruction and Islamic fundamentalism and a rise in terrorism.

The Israelis and Palestinians are to respond to the latest proposals by Wednesday, and if they see the potential for progress, Barak and Arafat are likely to travel separately to Washington for talks with President Clinton.

Clinton would then decide whether it was worth convening a Mideast summit, said Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami.

Time is running short for a deal under Clinton’s watch. He will leave office in four weeks, while Barak faces a Feb. 6 battle for reelection. If a peace deal is negotiated, Barak has said he will consider the election a referendum on the agreement.

Barak convened key Cabinet ministers and officials at an army base in northern Israel late Sunday night to discuss Clinton’s proposals, his spokeswoman Merav Parsi-Tzadok said.

Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers carried out an undercover operation in the West Bank near Nablus, arresting 14 Palestinians believed to be activists in the militant Islamic group Hamas and suspected of planning attacks against Israel.

The recent violence has claimed more than 340 lives, most of them Palestinian.