December 29, 2001	Saturday	Shawwal 13, 1422

TEL AVIV: Fresh talks aimed at ending 15 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed have little chance of yielding progress toward a settlement because of high-level opposition to key proposals on the table, analysts said.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appear to be playing along with the new joint initiative by their deputies in an effort to gain tactical advantage, both domestically and internationally.

Recent talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian parliamentary speaker Ahmed Korei have underscored the difficulty of renewed peacemaking amid a conflict that has shattered trust on both sides.

Proposals under discussion include creation of an interim Palestinian “mini-state” on parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip — an idea Arafat has ruled out — and a total freeze on Jewish settlement building, which Sharon has flatly rejected.

Those two elements have cast strong doubt on the chances for success in the talks, the latest in a series of attempts to end violence in which more than 1,000 people have been killed.

“Nobody is on the edge of their seats awaiting a settlement. The differences are too wide,” an Israeli political source said. Despite that, Sharon and Arafat are allowing the negotiations to continue, each for his own political reasons, analysts said.

CONCESSIONS: Israel’s right-wing leader thinks Peres is offering too many concessions but is letting his dovish foreign minister proceed to avoid a rift in his coalition government and because he believes Arafat will ultimately reject the plan, analysts said.

However, if Sharon allows Peres to go too far, it could be his own right-wing allies who pull the rug out from under him.

Arafat, under intense US pressure to halt Palestinian attacks on Israel, is seizing the opportunity to force Israel to discuss political solutions to the conflict even though Sharon has vowed not to negotiate under fire.

But Palestinian officials say it would be impossible for Arafat to accept the parameters of a Palestinian state that fall so far short of his people’s aspirations.

Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said the talks were intended to “find a political way out of the current crisis and not focus on security matters as Sharon always stressed”.

Palestinian sources said proposals by Peres include the creation of a state that would initially cover just 40 per cent of the West Bank and 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian officials call this unacceptable and a violation of previous signed deals.

Sharon insisted the document “has no effect or weight” and sources close to the Israeli leader said he would not authorize talks on a Palestinian state before the subject was brought to the cabinet for approval.

Sharon has depicted the talks as restricted to security issues and has demanded Palestinians end their uprising before he will begin political negotiations.

Analysts believe Sharon has authorized Peres to hold meetings with Korei to keep the foreign minister’s centre-left Labour Party, a key partner in Israel’s national unity government, from bolting the coalition.

Israeli analyst Akiva Eldar said Sharon “has learned keeping Peres in his government means he has to let him feel as if he’s not just warming a seat.”

“I believe Sharon has good reasons (to believe) that nothing will come out of this peace plan. He believes Arafat will do the dirty work by rejecting the ideas,” Eldar said. Until now, Arafat has not publicly turned down the proposals.

Analysts said Sharon, who recently declared Arafat “irrelevant”, believes he is under no pressure to make concessions because of US demands on the Palestinian leader to crack down on militants behind a recent wave of suicide attacks.

But Washington has also made clear that it considers Arafat a legitimate peace partner and joined international criticism of Israel for barring him from Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS: Arafat considers it crucial to hold political discussions with Israel as a way of showing his people they have gained something from more than a year of revolt. He called on Dec 16 for an end to all attacks on Israelis.

“What is important for the Palestinians is the principle of resuming talks with Israel rather than the ideas proposed now,” Palestinian analyst Ghassan al-Khatib said. “The importance of these proposals is that they reveal Sharon’s true face, that he opposes peace talks.”

But Palestinian analyst Khalil Shikaki said Arafat, who has faced growing internal dissent, was also under pressure to produce results. A recent poll showed most Palestinians support a ceasefire and a return to peace negotiations with Israel.

“It is obvious that the Old Guard feels threatened,” Shikaki said. “They have opted to unite and continue the discussions with Israel based on these ideas.”—Reuters