Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has warned of "a tragedy" ahead for Israel and the Palestinians if they fail to reach a peace agreement, and has hinted that he fears a return to terrorist attacks that killed scores of Israelis in the mid-1990's, reported New York Times.
In an interview published on Saturday in Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Barak said he could not predict whether a peace pact could be reached with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
But he said whatever chance there was of an agreement on Jerusalem and other contentious issues was now up to Arafat showing "flexibility and openness" that was not forthcoming at the Camp David talks that foundered last month, said the paper.
"I don't know if there will be an agreement, but I am sure there should be one," Barak said. "I am sure the alternative is tragedy. It would not be appropriate to go into detail as to what could happen later on." At another point, he noted that within the past 18 months -- roughly the period since he campaigned for and won Israel's May 1999 election on a pledge to push assertively for peace with the Palestinians -- there had been no major terrorist attacks on Israelis.
Alluding to mounting pressure from opposition parties for a new election later this year or early next year, Barak said that if forced to go to the polls again, he would campaign on the peace offer he made to Arafat at Camp David.
According to the paper, the offer included concessions on Jerusalem and other issues.
A new opinion poll published Saturday in the same paper showed continuing erosion of public confidence in Barak, said the New York Times.
It showed that only 33 percent of the respondents rated his performance as prime minister as "good" and 64 percent as "not good."
But Barak predicted he would win an election, because most Israelis know the potential consequences of abandoning the peace effort.
He said that if the Israeli parliament calls for new elections, as many politicians expect, when it returns from its summer recess on October 29th, "I will go to the people to ask their trust in continuing to steer the helm of the peace process, and I tell you that this trust will be given, because we are now faced with dramatic decisions."
"With a year and a half having passed without a terror attack, whoever closes the road to an accord is taking a heavy responsibility on themselves," he said in the interview.
BARAK TO VISIT TURKEY NEXT WEEK FOR PEACE TALKS
Barak's office said on Friday he would go to Turkey next week on a one-day trip to discuss Middle East peacemaking, reported Reuters.
He will go on Monday to meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and other officials, a statement from his office said.
Israel's acting foreign minister, Shlomo Ben-Ami, returned last week from a European tour aimed at garnering support for Israel's position in peace talks with the Palestinians, said the agency.
Barak and Sezer will also discuss bilateral security and civilian cooperation, said the statement - (Several Sources)
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