ISRAELI PRIME minister Binyamin Netanyahu has made clear that comments by defence minister Ehud Barak in favour of dividing Jerusalem were not the policy of the Israeli government.
Addressing the Saban Center for Middle East policy in Washington at the weekend, Mr Barak had said Jerusalem’s Jewish neighbourhoods should remain part of Israel, but Arab sectors should come under the sovereignty of an independent Palestinian state.
The comments were in line with the “Clinton parameters” – proposals for the city’s future outlined by former US president Bill Clinton in 2000, after the failure of the Camp David peace summit.
After a number of ministers had publicly criticised Mr Barak’s comments, Mr Netanyahu clarified that they were issued by Mr Barak in his capacity as the head of the Labor party, and not as a representative of the government.
Mr Netanyahu and his ruling Likud party, with its coalition partners except Labor, reject the possibility of territorial compromise on Jerusalem, arguing that “unified Jerusalem”, including the Arab sectors captured during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, must remain Israel’s eternal capital.
This was not the first time a senior Israeli minister has voiced positions out of line with government policy. Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the UN general assembly in September and advocated redrawing Israel’s borders to include large numbers of Israeli Arabs inside a future Palestinian state.
Mr Barak’s comments followed the speech by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to the Saban Center, in which she expressed frustration over the failure to get Israelis and Palestinians around the negotiating table, but insisted the US would continue to push for progress. She vowed to promote indirect talks on the core issues.
Israeli officials expressed satisfaction that Ms Clinton came out against the idea of the international community imposing a settlement. Palestinian officials expressed disappointment that Ms Clinton did not blame Israel for the failure to resume direct talks.