Jerusalem - Summit talks between the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, ended in abject failure yesterday, with the two sides cancelling a planned press conference, and each blaming the other for the breakdown, reports David Horovitz.
The talks, held at the Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, had been intended to secure a deal on the next Israeli military withdrawal from occupied West Bank land, and to clear away some of the obstacles to a permanent peace treaty. But when Mr Barak detailed to Mr Arafat the 6.1 per cent of the West Bank he was planning to hand over next week, Mr Arafat rejected the plan - demanding that instead of the largely unpopulated areas earmarked for withdrawal, Israel transfer full control of the Abu Dis neighbourhood just outside Jerusalem, where it has been suggested the Palestinians might locate their parliament.