LOC09:42
06:42 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (KUNA) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called
the Palestinian suspension of direct talks with Israel over the continued
settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem an "exaggeration."
He also urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to use the UN influence with
"all players in the region" for an "urgent" resumption of the "strategic"
direct negotiations with the Palestinians.
Barak told reporters, late on Thursday, following a "fruitful" meeting with
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that they discussed the "need to pursue
resumption of negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in "a
way that contains both a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose," and branded
the Palestinian suspension of the direct talks because of the Israeli
settlement activity an "exaggeration."
"I believe we have to go beyond the hurdles of the second moratorium, that
somehow could not be delivered, and move beyond it into direct negotiations
about the core issues in order to move forward. We hope a formula of this
nature will be found in the coming few weeks in order to enable us to keep
moving forward," Barak said.
The Israeli minister said he urged Ban to use the influence that the UN
enjoys with "all players in the region" to consider the situation. "It is a
strategic need for all the peoples of the region."
Barak denied that Israel is building any new settlements.
"We are not building any new settlements. Even this right-wing Government
committed itself to the Roadmap and to the two-state, two-peoples solution,
not to expropriate new lands," he insisted.
He claimed that during the last 43 years, the whole construction by the
various Israeli Governments did not cover even "two percent of the area of the
West Bank. It is a bit exaggeration to say that because Israel keeps building
(settlements) to cover the necessity of life of those people who are living
there, that's what blocks in reality the moving forward in the negotiations."
He recalled that when the Palestinian Authority had negotiations with the
(ex-premier Ehud) Olmert Government, the rate of settlement construction was
twice the present rate, and "it was not an obstacle (to the negotiations).
"When I was Prime Minister ten years ago, we were very deep into
negotiations, and the rate of construction was four times the present rate.
It is not about the rate of construction. it's about creating the right
atmosphere, reduce suspicion on both sides, and negotiate seriously and
sincerely," he added.
He expressed hope that together with the Obama Administration, "we will
find the right way to move forward. It is an urgent necessity for all of us."
"The Secretary-General emphasized that it was vital to break the current
diplomatic stalemate and resume negotiations. He expressed concern at the
settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He also raised the
issue of UN freedom of movement between Jerusalem and the West Bank," Ban's
press office said in a statement following the meeting with Barak.
In answer to a question regarding the issue of the international tribunal
cross-examining the case of the 2005 assassination of the Lebanese ex-premier
Rafic Hariri and Hezbollah's position on it, Barak said "we feel it should
remain an internal Lebanese issue and an international issue vis-@-vis
Lebanon. It is not Israel's business to meddle in this dispute."
On the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla that Israel attacked in international
waters last May, killing nine Turkish activists, Barak said "it deserves a
sincere consideration on all sides," but, "I don't think that a continued
friction between Israel and Turkey serves the interests of the stability of
the Middle East." (end)
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