Barak Faces His Own Promises
At Yitzhak Rabin's grave, Israel's newest prime minister, Ehud Barak, pledged himself to a legacy of peace, reports CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth.
Despite the dangers of taking a dove-ish stance, Barak promised to move quickly to finish the work of the leader killed four years ago by a Jew opposed to peace with the Palestinians.
Honeymoons are hardly part of the political process in Israel. Although Barak was celebrated as the country's newest hero, the Labor Party leader already is facing the reality of Israel's most stubborn problems.
He talked by phone with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The difference between former prime minister and rightist Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Barak, said the PLO, is between a non-negotiator and a tough one.
"I don't think we're going to have an easy ride in the peace process, but we hope that any agreement reached with the Israeli government will find its way to be implemented on the ground," says chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat.
A senior aide to Arafat said Wednesday the Palestinians will declare an independent state by the end of this year.
"We are at a crossroads. It is the downfall of ... those who reject implementation of the obligations stated in the agreements," said general secretary of the Palestinian Presidency Tayeb Abdel-Rahim, referring to Netanyahu's ouster.
Three weeks before Israel went to the polls, the Palestinian leadership decided to defer declaring an independent state on May 4, the date interim Israeli-Palestinian peace accords had set for the sides to reach a final peace deal. The U.S., the main Middle East peace broker, has called for an accelerated push for a final peace within 12 months.
Barak has pledged to instill trust and momentum into peacemaking with the Palestinians, which languished for most of Netanyahu's three years in power. But Barak has stopped short of agreeing to the 12-month deadline.
Barak has not ruled out a Palestinian state emerging from negotiations, provided it did not cross four "red lines" he has set as vital to Israel's security.
In a victory speech Tuesday, Barak said he would not agree to a foreign army west of the Jordan River and that Israel would not return to the borders it controlled before it captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war.
He has also ruled out ceding control over any part of Jerusalem and said Israel would keep large blocs of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza -- land the Palestinians want for their state with East Jerusalem as capital.
Land is what it's always been about, like the land of suburban
Ariel, a Jewish settlement on the West Bank that saw Netanyahu as a symbol of strength and isn't sure what to make of Barak.
"So if he will be okay, it's okay for us," says Ariel's mayor, Ron Nachman. "If he will not be okay, so we will fight him."
The conflict is not over. Bulldozers were back at work in the hills around Jrusalem Wednesday, clearing the way for more Jewish homes on land the Palestinians claim as their own.
Another key player in the Palestinian struggle has expressed optimism for peace.
King Abdullah of Jordan who took over the role of his late father, peacemaker King Hussein, in February, said of Barak: "I like the manÂ…I think he's the type of man to take Israel into a new phase of peace and stability in the region.''
But any failure to meet high expectations after Monday's Israeli elections could lead to a backlash, setting back the peace process, Abdullah told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 but retains a keen interest in Israeli-Palestinian talks because of its close historical relations with the Palestinians.
The king also predicted progress in talks between Israel and Syria, which have been in abeyance since shortly before Netanyahu took office in 1996.
Following up on an election pledge, Barak was expected to meet Wednesday with top defense officials on Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, its last active war front. A group of crack Israeli infantry officers favors a withdrawal from the area, Israel radio reported, a position that would bolster the new Israeli prime minister's pledge to pull out soon.
Nearly 250 Israeli soldiers have died in south Lebanon since a "security zone" was established in 1985 to protect Israel's northern communities. Backers of withdrawal say the deaths outweigh the risk to Israel's northern border.