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Ehud Barak to Meet With President Clinton

Aired September 4, 2000 - 6:06 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is also in New York, where he met Monday with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He will meet there later in the week with U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The Israeli leader says this is a -- in his words -- "decisive moment" in the faltering Middle East peace process.

We got more from CNN's Jerrold Kessel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Barak himself has been playing down expectations, continuing to put the onus on Yasser Arafat and saying Israel will make no further negotiation moves until the Palestinians show flexibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wouldn't have gone all the way but for the fact that he wants peace. The world has not understood that Barak's proposal in Israeli terms was really an outrage, because he went so far that no Israeli in his right mind believed that it will ever happen.

KESSEL: Mr. Barak believes the future of Jerusalem's old city, with its sacred sites, is the key to peace, and at the heart of the Jerusalem issue is the corner of the old city that Israelis and Palestinians both see as the symbol their national aspirations. For Moslems, it's the Haram as-Sharif, the noble sanctuary; for Jews, the Temple Mount. For Mr. Barak, this is the essence of the negotiations.

TOMMY LAPID, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: From Mr. Barak's point of view, the Temple Mount will be the same as the lake of Galilee, the northern shore of the Lake of Galilee, was to the peace with Syria. It's a deal-breaker, and he will not go forward.

If, on the other hand, Mr. Arafat does show some signs of flexibility, I think Mr. Barak might surprise the Israeli public, making even further concessions on East Jerusalem, more than he's done so far, even at Camp David.

KESSEL (on camera): Which is why Ehud Barak has been saying bluntly it is not his meeting on Wednesday with President Clinton which is critical as to whether there's a real chance for a full peace, but rather the president's same-day meeting with Yasser Arafat. Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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