Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Saturday to put an end to the violence and extend a hand of peace.
"I call on you Yasser Arafat, you who shook the hands of Yitzhak Rabin, don't allow the extremists to lead you into a path of pain and anguish, you can put an end to the cycle of violence, Barak said at a commemoration rally for slain former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
"From here, I call upon you to put an end to the violence and stretch out a hand to the peace of the brave, respect of agreement and complying with agreements."
Barak also said he may be going to Washington to meet with US President Bill Clinton next week to get the peace process back on track.
"I believe that once (Palestinian) Chairman (Yasser) Arafat will give his answer, a few days later on I will also come to Washington to meet the president," Barak told CNN.
US President Bill Clinton invited the Palestinian leader to meet him on Thursday. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat confirmed to CNN that the meeting will indeed take place in Washington on that day.
The Israeli leader spoke during a peace rally on the fifth anniversary of the death of slain former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to a crowd of dozens of thousands.
He opened his speech on a personal note to Leah Rabin, the widow of Yitzhak Rabin, who was re-hospitalized Friday for cancer treatment and could not attend the memorial.
He repeated that his key goal was to reach a permanent peace settlement with the Palestinians.
"Our goals are clear," he said. "The first is to achieve a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, through negotiations, not through the dictation of force and not through something imposed on an international level."
"And the second is through such a permanent settlement to protect Israel's vital interests by creating an important framework of good neighborly relations...we will not give into violence and we will protect our citizens."
Addressing the slain prime minister, Barak reiterated that "we did everything to bring peace about."
He blamed the Palestinians for the failure of the Camp David summit in July saying the "ground was not yet ripe on the other side for reaching an agreement."
The Camp David summit failed to hammer out a comprehensive agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians which was to put an end to the half-century long conflict.
"They were not able to bring out such mass rallies like this one in order to bring peace about," Barak said.
In an interview with CNN, Barak again blamed Arafat and called on him to implement the understandings to end the violence, brokered by Clinton in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt two weeks ago.
"We live up to all our commitments, and I really very seriously call upon chairman Arafat to live up to what has been agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh and cease the violence and aim our sights on the next step about how to put an end to the conflict," Barak told CNN.
"It's clear that until now the Palestinians have not complied with the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings. The violence (against) our isolated positions continues, the shootings continue, the incitement is still there and the re-arrest of the Islamic Jihad and the Hamas did not take place."
Barak was referring to Islamic militants who were released by the Palestinian Authority from jail during the last few weeks of violence.
"Yitzhak taught us that change requires a leadership which is prepared to mold a reality for the sake of the future of the country, this will be a difficult struggle, but if we are jointly steadfast, we will succeed, we will win and we will bring about peace," Barak said and the crowd applauded.
The Israeli leader ended his passionate speech with a promise to Rabin to follow his path and deliver peace.
"That peace you dreamed of Yitzhak, will come, and on that day, you will be missed even more by us, you Yitzhak, a leader, a warrior, a man, a friend – TEL AVIV (AFP)
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