JERUSALEM/GAZA: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD BARAK CONVENES HIS CABINET A DAY BEFORE OPENING SESSION OF THE ISRAELI PARLIAMENT'S WINTER SESSION

Record ID: 400598

  • Title: JERUSALEM/GAZA: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD BARAK CONVENES HIS CABINET A DAY BEFORE OPENING SESSION OF THE ISRAELI PARLIAMENT'S WINTER SESSION
  • Date: 28th October 2000
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (OCTOBER 29, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. PAN: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD BARAK ARRIVING AT CABINET MEETING 0.08 2. PAN: REGIONAL COOPERATION MINISTER SHIMON PERES ARRIVING FOR THE MEETING 0.12 3. VARIOUS ISRAELI MINISTERS ENTERING CABINET MEETING (2 SHOTS) 0.23 4. LV: BARAK AND ADVISORS AT THE CABINET MEETING 0.27
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM/ GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA5PED5NPC0LSIIWK4R2WKVQ0SA
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak convened his cabinet
    on Sunday (October 29, 2000), a day before the opening of the
    Israeli parliament's winter session.

    Barak has said that he is closer than ever to forging a
    national emergency government to cope with the
    Israeli-Palestinian violence, it is likely to include Likud
    leader Ariel Sharon.



    Barak vowed his left-centre Labour Party would not
    abandon its bid for peace with Palestinians even in a
    partnership with Sharon's Likud, a right-wing party opposed to
    the prime minister's readiness to swap occupied land for
    peace.

    Barak ruled out giving Sharon a veto over peace issues
    while a Likud source said there were still "substantial
    difficulties" to sealing a coalition deal.

    The Israeli Prime Minister who could face efforts to oust
    his minority coalition when parliament meets on Monday, is
    trying to strengthen his hand in stemming the tensions.

    Sharon has said he will not join a government that would
    hold talks with the Palestinians based on the land concessions
    Barak was willing to consider when he met Arafat at July's
    inconclusive Camp David summit.

    Elected last year for a term that ends in 2003, Barak lost
    his parliamentary majority on the eve of Camp David when three
    coalition partners left his government over compromises they
    rejected.

    Barak said that if unable to create a national emergency
    government with Likud, he might still be able to stay afloat
    with the help of other parties that would give him a safety
    net in parliament.

    Demonstrations by both side were held over the weekend.

    Outside Barak's office in Jerusalem on Sunday (October 29),
    Israelis were protesting against Barak. One demonstrator,
    Nadia Matar, denied the Yasser Arafat was looking for peace at
    all and said: "He's a murderer!"
    Palestinians held a candlelit vigil overnight (Saturday
    28) in Gaza.

    Tensions were further inflamed when Palestinians wounded
    in clashes with Israeli troops flew to Baghdad on Sunday,
    joining similar flights going to Iraq in defiance of the
    decade-old U.N. sanctions.

    The plane also carried an official Palestinian delegation
    headed by Minister for Public Works Azzam al-Ahmad, who
    usually acts as President Yasser Arafat's envoy to Baghdad, he
    added.

    The flight is the latest of several sent to Baghdad by
    Arab and non-Arab countries opposed to U.N. sanctions since
    Baghdad airport reopened in August for the first time since
    the 1990-91 Gulf War.

    The United States has said all flights to Baghdad require
    clearance from a U.N. sanctions committee, but some countries,
    led by France and Russia, say flights carrying humanitarian
    supplies need only notify the committee.

    The stand-off between the Palestinians and the Israeli
    government shows no signs of flagging, and Ehud Barak faces
    one of the toughest challenges of his premiership as the
    Knesset (Israeli parliament) reconvenes on Monday (October 30)
    with the possibility of forming a coalition still in the
    balance.
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