September 22, 2000 - Israel is pushing an initiative to hand sovereignty on the Temple Mount to permanent members of the UN Security Council, in the latest effort to break through to a final status agreement with the Palestinians.
Among those involved are the governments of the United States and Egypt, who proposed the idea, French President Jacques Chirac, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak asked the French President to participate in this effort because of the important position of France, both as current president of the European Union and a permanent member of the Security Council. Another unspoken reason for the French role is that, unlike the United States, Paris would not be "suspected" of favoring Israel.
During a long telephone conversation with the French President several days ago, Barak explained that the Temple Mount issue was blocking the achievement of a final status agreement with the Palestinians. He also emphasized that the problem involved the unwillingness of the Palestinians and the Muslim world to recognize the special claim the Jewish people historically have on the Temple Mount.
Barak said even the Western Wall is considered holy for Islam, and Muslims are unwilling to recognize the rights of Jews and Israel to the site, and will merely concede their right to pray there.
As a result, Barak said, Israel rejects out of hand the claim of Palestinian chairman Yasser Arafat for Palestinian or Muslim sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The prime minister told Chirac that in any future arrangement the status quo over the holy sites would be preserved, and the Temple Mount would remain in the hands of the Jerusalem waqf.
Israel now believes bringing the Temple Mount under the aegis of the international community could be the best way to safeguard the rights and interests of both faiths, while retaining the status quo on the ground.
The French president expressed his willingness to help and said the French government coordinates its positions on the peace process with Washington.
Chirac and Israel's acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben- Ami met on Tuesday for what appeared to be talks focused on the idea of international sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The next day Chirac spoke with Chairman Yasser Arafat and Annan on the telephone.
The idea of international sovereignty over the Temple Mount was first raised by U.S. President Bill Clinton during the latter part of the Camp David Summit in July as one of several possible options to solve the question of Jerusalem. Egypt later presented an updated version of the idea, placing .. he hands of the Security Council's five permanent members.
Responding to the reports, the Prime Minister's Office said "this is all speculation. Barak is not willing to discuss the proposal until Arafat agrees to discuss it."
In Israel and the Palestinian Authority officials are waiting to see what President Clinton's next steps in the peace process might be, and it is still not clear if the U.S. will present the sides with a bridging document.
[ http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=09/22/00&id=94446 ]
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