EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana said today that Europe supports the parameters for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal presented by US President Bill Clinton and encouraged both sides to accept them.
"This is the time to take decisions, brave decisions," Mr Solana said after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami.
"I think the solution should be found around the terms of the parameters presented (by Clinton)," he added. He also stressed the importance of moving forward, warning "time is running out."
Mr Solana was due to meet both Mr Barak and Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat later in the day.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat said today that US President Bill Clinton's peace proposals could not serve as the sole basis for a permanent peace agreement with Israel.
US officials say they are still waiting for a Palestinian response to Mr Clinton's proposals, which Israel has already agreed to on condition the Palestinians accept the plan unchanged.
Mr Arafat said earlier that he expects a response within the next 24 hours from President Clinton to his request for clarifications of the peace plan the US president has proposed.
Mr Arafat said on his return to Gaza from a meeting with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this morning that he had sent two important letters to Washington on the plan which Mr Clinton hopes will be the basis for a historic peace deal before he leaves office on January 20th.
"We have insisted and we have made clear our requests and our readiness to have consultations and discussions with him (Clinton) over the items he has presented but on the condition that these (items) are not the sole basis," Mr Arafat said.
The Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that Mr Clinton has proposed a plan under which Israel would give the Palestinians control all of the Gaza Strip and more than 90 percent of the West Bank, including the Arab quarters of Jerusalem.
Israel would retain control, however, of the Wailing Wall in east Jerusalem, the most holy site in Judaism.
The Palestinians would also have to accept Israel's refusal to allow its 3.7 million refugees to return to their homes in Israel which they have lost since the Jewish state's creation in 1948.
Reuters/AFP
Reuters/AFP