Fresh push for Mid-East peace

Arafat met a European Union peace envoy on Sunday

Efforts are being stepped up this week to break the impasse between Israel and the Palestinians in time for the 13 September deadline set for a final peace accord.

On Monday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to meet the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and the Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouq al-Shara, in the coastal city of Alexandria.

A day later, King Abdullah of Jordan will discuss the continuing deadlock at separate meetings with Mr Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak.

No sign of a breakthrough on the status of Jerusalem

The future of Jerusalem - the main cause of the collapse of last month's Camp David summit - is expected to top the agenda, along with Palestinian refugees, borders and Jewish settlers.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Cairo says Egypt is a key mediator in the peace process and it now appears to be trying hard to help salvage something from the failed Camp David summit.

Blame

This week's frantic shuttle diplomacy comes as US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross is in the middle of another mission to the region.

The Jerusalem issue is not negotiable and cannot be so

Palestinian cabinet statement

As he continued his efforts on Sunday, however, both Israeli and Palestinian officials traded accusations of blame.

"The Jerusalem issue is not negotiable and cannot be so today, tomorrow or in the future," the Palestinian cabinet said in a statement.

Earlier, a senior Arafat aide warned that Jewish settlers could become hostages if Israel annexed parts of the West Bank - a move it has threatened if the Palestinians unilaterally declare independence.

'Flexibility'

Speaking to Israel's army radio, Mr Barak said his government had done all it could in negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria.

We displayed our readiness to examine ideas and we are waiting

Ehud Barak

Negotiations with the latter broke down in January over the extent an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it captured in the 1967 war.

"The ball is on the other side and I imagine that within a few weeks we will know whether or not there is an openness and a flexibility," he said.

The Palestinians want the eastern half of Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state - which they have said they will declare with or without a peace accord - while the Israelis insist that the undivided city will be their eternal capital.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry officials have said privately they are working with the Palestinians to draw up a plan for Jerusalem that might help bridge the gap, while preserving Palestinian rights - but no details have been divulged.