July 2, 1999
Web posted at: 7:54 p.m. EDT (2354 GMT)

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JERUSALEM (AP) -- With his government set to take office next week, Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak broke his silence on peace issues with a friendly telephone call to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a terse rebuke to U.S. President Bill Clinton for suggesting Palestinian refugees had the right to move back to Israel.

Barak told Arafat that he would take up the mantle of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to restore confidence in the stalled negotiations and bring peace to the region, his office said in a statement. The two leaders agreed to meet soon after Barak takes office, expected on July 7.

The telephone call was a sign that after six weeks of protracted coalition negotiations, during which Barak mostly refrained from commenting on developments in the Arab-Israeli conflict and did not meet with Palestinian leaders, the prime minister-elect was getting ready to begin the business of governing.

Arafat and Barak had not spoken since the day after the May 17 election, when Arafat called Barak to congratulate him.

In Friday's telephone call, Barak assured Arafat that he would conduct negotiations simultaneously with the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, apparently trying to assuage Palestinian fear that he would move forward on the Syrian track and leave the Palestinians behind.

Barak rebukes Clinton's comment on Palestinians

Barak also took sharp exception Friday to what he saw as Clinton's suggestion that Palestinian refugees had the right to reclaim homes left behind when Israel was created in 1948.

Barak's office said in a statement that Clinton's remark -- made Thursday in Washington at a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak -- was "not acceptable to the prime minister-elect." The statement said that apparently there had been a misunderstanding, and that the U.S. administration should have clarified it.

Clinton said at the news conference that the Palestinians should be free to live "wherever they like," which was taken by the Israeli leader as an indication of support for Palestinians' long-standing demand to reclaim homes inside Israel.

Hastening to smooth over the incident, the U.S. Embassy in Israel issued a statement later Friday saying that Clinton's remarks did not signal a change in policy.

"The long-standing U.S. view is that the issue of Palestinian refugees is a matter that ... needs to be dealt with and resolved by the parties themselves," the statement said.

The Clinton administration gave similar assurances to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, which still reports to outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Ziad Abu Zayyad said Friday that reclaiming homes in Israel -- many of which were in Arab villages that no longer exist -- "is not practical." Ziad suggested that refugees instead could be compensated financially for their lost homes and property.

Following a late night meeting of the Palestinian Cabinet, Arafat released a statement praising Clinton's remarks on the refugee problem and calling on Barak to implement Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

Arafat "expressed appreciation for the position declared by President Clinton concerning Palestinian refugees and their right to live freely on their own land."

Israeli leader committed to 'unity of Jerusalem'

Despite Barak's assurances to Arafat, the prime minister-elect made it clear that he would stand tough on key negotiations issues, including his campaign promise not to divide Jerusalem, part of which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.

In a statement responding to comments by a top lawmaker in his party that Israel would allow limited Palestinian sovereignty in Jerusalem, Barak reiterated his commitment to "the unity, security and sovereignty of Jerusalem."

Barak also told Arafat that negotiations were conditional on the Palestinians fighting terrorism aimed at Israel, his office said.

Barak is to present his coalition government to parliament for a vote of confidence next week. With lawmakers' approval, he is to take office immediately.

With the seven parties that joined the coalition, Barak has 75 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Parties in control of at least 16 other seats back his intention to make concessions to the Palestinians in exchange for peace.

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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