Israel upbeat on peace deal

Jerusalem still a hurdle for negotiators to overcome

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said that he will accept a compromise peace deal proposed by US President Bill Clinton - provided the Palestinians do the same.

I believe that if the other side accepts the proposals as they are, then we will also have to accept them, but I am not certain that is the situation

Ehud Barak

His remarks followed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's comments that the deal did not remove the "obstacles to peace".

In an interview for Israeli TV, Mr Barak said that he owed it to Mr Clinton, who had invested seven and a half years in the peace process, to discuss the proposal.

But he added that it was far from clear that the Palestinians would accept the offer.

Mr Arafat stopped short of rejecting the US ideas, saying they needed to be examined in greater detail.

Reported American proposals

Israel to concede sovereignty over much of East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque

Palestinians give up the right of return for Palestinian refugees

Palestinian state on 95% of the West Bank and 100% of the Gaza Strip

The Palestinians and Israelis are both engaged in internal consultations, and are due to tell Mr Clinton by Wednesday whether his proposals are an acceptable framework for tackling the thorniest issues in the conflict - including the status of Jerusalem.

Mr Arafat said after returning from talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that some of the proposals had not been modified since the Camp David summit, held in the US last July, which broke down without agreement with both sides blaming the other for the failure.

Arafat did not reject the American proposals

Israel's cabinet met into the early hours of Monday morning to discuss the proposals.

Mr Barak warned his ministers that Israel would face increasing international isolation if a peace deal were not reached soon.

Rumoured proposals

According to Israeli newspapers, the US compromise deal proposes that Israel should concede sovereignty over much of East Jerusalem, and critically over the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque: land which is sacred to Jews as well as to Muslims.

About 350 people have died in nearly three months of violence

In exchange the Palestinians will be asked to make a concession on the issue of the return of refugees.

The American plan is also reported to call for the establishment of a Palestinian state on 95% of the West Bank and 100% of the Gaza strip.

According to BBC Jerusalem correspondent Hilary Andersson, Palestinian officials say privately that the remaining problems lie in the details, and they accuse the Israelis of not being prepared to concede sovereignty over every inch of the Al-Aqsa compound.

The compound, known also as the Temple Mount, is bordered by the Wailing or Western Wall - the holiest site in Judaism.

Time pressure

Mr Barak is anxious to secure a deal because polls show it could be his only chance of winning re-election as prime minister on 6 February.

Mr Clinton is also eager to achieve a deal before he leaves office on 20 January.

Barak warned of Israeli isolation if a deal is not reached

"We are talking about a difficult discussion for both sides on the most painful of issues," Mr Barak said.

"If we don't make an agreement and we drift, God forbid, into a situation of deterioration there will be cracks in other peace deals," he said, referring to Israel's peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

About 350 people - mostly Palestinians - have been killed in nearly three months of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.