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Israel Gears Up For Early Elections As Prospects For Peace Remain Unclear
by Tanya Willmer
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel began gearing up Wednesday for elections in the wake of Prime Minister Ehud Barak's snap call, while views remained mixed on the future prospects of the battered peace process.
Representatives from Barak's Labor party and the main right-wing opposition Likud met to set a date for the poll, while Barak closeted himself with several close advisors to plot an electoral strategy.
Media reports suggested the poll could be held on May 8th or 15th, two years after Barak handily beat his right-wing predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, now waiting in the wings for a dramatic political comeback.
Israeli public radio said Barak had summoned Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami, Tourism and Transport Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, security advisor Danny Yatom, cabinet chief Gilad Sher and former leading Shin Beth official Yossi Ginosar for consultations.
Meanwhile, political haggling continued, with Likud leader Ariel Sharon saying an emergency government was still an option, despite rebuffing earlier calls from Barak to join forces.
"Tuesday was a sad day. The nation needs to unite, because division only encourages our enemies," Sharon told army radio. "If there is an invitation from the prime minister, we will discuss it with him."
Faced by a hostile parliament Tuesday, Barak seized the initiative and pledged new elections, throwing into further confusion efforts to make peace with the Palestinians after a two-month wave of unrest that has claimed the lives of 293 people.
Israelis expect the election will be a face-off between Barak and Netanyahu. However, parliamentary speaker Avraham Burg, a left-leaning religious Jew, is reportedly considering a challenge for the Labor party leadership.
Netanyahu, who took time out from politics after his crushing defeat, is running well ahead of both Barak and Sharon in opinion polls.
"We are working to halt the violence, but there is no military solution to our problem with the Palestinians and, therefore, we have to keep the window open [to negotiations]," Barak said.
In Washington, a State Department official declined to comment on the Israeli elections, but expressed confidence in the peace process.
"This is not the end of the peace process," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The United States will continue to do everything it can to support the parties in an effort to end the violence, restore calm and find a way back to the negotiating table."
For his part, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said the future of the peace process is “obscure”.
"The situation in the Palestinian territories is deteriorating, confidence between Palestinians and Israelis is crumbling and the role of the sponsors of the peace process [the United Sates and Russia] is unclear for various reasons," said Moussa, speaking in Abu Dhabi.
His boss, Egypt's president and key Middle East peace broker, Hosni Mubarak, said he remains committed to peace despite the situation in the territories.
"Peace is our goal, and we must work to attain it. I don't think about war," Mubarak said on state radio.
Palestinian minister of international cooperation Nabil Shaath said Barak's sole hope of staying in office was "to stop his aggression and crazy war and lead a path that can give him a chance to succeed if he really desires real peace."
The Israeli government responded Wednesday to charges of aggression, disputing claims it had used excessive force against the Palestinians.
A government statement said the army "is only taking action in response to violence, and is acting in self defense. It is also using great restraint with the aim of avoiding civilian casualties, where possible."
The statement was in response to a U.N. human rights report Monday denouncing the situation in the Palestinian territories and calling for international monitors to be sent in.
The government repeated its objections to any outside force until a peace accord is reached.
Barak’s chief of staff, Gilad Sher, also voiced opposition to an international commission on the violence beginning its work before the troubles have ended.
Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo had announced that the panel, headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell, would arrive in the Palestinian territories on December 11th.
In New York, a U.N. spokesman said the Security Council will meet Thursday to discuss a proposal to send 2,000 unarmed observers to the territories.
Elsewhere on the diplomatic scene, Ben Ami is due in Norway on Friday, while Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was in Tunisia.
The level of violence remained low Wednesday, as it has since the start two days earlier of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
There was one death, however, that of a 14-year-old boy who had been shot on Sunday in the Gaza Strip.
Less than a dozen other people were injured, including a Palestinian man seriously hurt when a bomb he was reportedly planting blew up, and a Jewish settler shot when his car came under Palestinian gunfire.
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