Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 1 December 2003 — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday rejected his Palestinian counterpart’s demand that the Jewish state stop building a controversial barrier through the West Bank as a condition for talks. A US envoy touring the area voiced concern about the barrier.

“I hereby notify you that no condition shall be accepted... regarding the cessation of the fence, dismantling of the fence and other fabrications,” Sharon was quoted as saying in the official report on the Cabinet meeting.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei has said that Israel must stop work on the barrier before he would meet Sharon for talks on ending three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and reviving a US-backed peace plan.

Qorei, in Jordan, urged the United States to press Israel to stop building the barrier. Israel says that it is building the fence to stop Palestinian bombers. Palestinians say the barrier of concrete and razor wire is designed to annex land occupied since the 1967 war.

“We are willing to meet our obligations and we are committed to implementing the road map,” said Qorei after meeting his Jordanian counterpart Faisal Al-Fayez. “But we also want the US to pressure the Israeli government to stop its violations, including (building) the segregation wall and the settlements,” the prime minister said.

He was speaking before talks with Jordan’s King Abdallah, who is due to visit Washington this week. Palestinian and Jordanian officials say the king will convey a message from the new Palestinian Cabinet to the US administration.

Senior US envoy William Burns reiterated US concerns about the barrier, which veers deep into occupied West Bank land, after meeting Fayez.

Burns later met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. Burns is trying to revive the stalled road map, which envisions a Palestinian state by 2005.

Burns urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume implementation of the peace plan, and said he expressed concern about construction of the West Bank barrier. “In our active conversations with Israelis, we have expressed our concerns about the course of the fence,” Burns said.

In recent days, the Israeli prime minister has said he plans a series of “unilateral” steps if peace talks with the Palestinians fail. Sharon has not detailed the steps, but media reports have said they could include dismantling isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.