Barak and Mitchell, Wednesday
Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry
Barak to meet with Fayyad soon
Following meeting with US special envoy, defense minister says will meet with Palestinian prime minister in bid to speed up proximity talks, discuss security-related and economic issues
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
said Wednesday that he planned meet with Palestinian Prime Minisetr Salam Fayyad in the coming days. He did not elaborate on the date and location of the meeting.
"This is not the first time we meet, and I assume we will discuss the situation on the ground and the coordination in terms of security issues," Barak said. "Great progress has been made in building the Palestinians' internal force, the Palestinians' internal security force, and together with our Shin Bet and the IDF's welcomed activity, we have created a better security situation than ever before across the West Bank."
Speaking at the end of his meeting with US special envoy George Mitchell, Barak noted the improvement in the Palestinian handling of internal security issues and the economic growth in the Palestinian Authority. The Barak-Fayyad meeting was scheduled in a bid o speed up the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
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According to Barak, the meeting will not only focus on security-related issues. "We will also discuss the economic issues, the issues they have been complaining to us about and the complaints we have, including the confiscation of goods, and the attempt to disrupt laborer's work in the settlements and public discourse issues, the Palestinian education system, about their activity against us n the global arena, and I assume I will also hear their claims and demands."
As for the peace negotiations, he added that "the goal at this stage is to move from proximity talks to direct negotiations with the Palestinians on all issues. This will require the other side's willingness as well. It will require both sides not to set preconditions and be willing to enter, with the understanding that tough decisions would be needed throughout the way.
"I hope that these efforts, which could not have been made without Senator Mitchell and the US government, will bear fruit and help us make the progress that all of us, the heads of states here and President Obama in the US, would like to see."
Meanwhile Wednesday, the world continued to protest the construction plan in east Jerusalem. Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy referred to the "King's Garden" plan in the Silwan neighborhood as an "obstacle to peace".
"Settlements and the demolition of homes are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible," she said in a statement, adding that the EU "has never recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem".
"I would like to call on Israel to refrain from measures which may undermine the ongoing proximity talks. These talks enjoy our full support and the parties need to engage seriously in these negotiations," she said.
