Israelis, Palestinians to Sign Unofficial Accord

Separate meeting plans Sharon, Qorei talks

Sunday, November 30, 2003
(6:25 PM ET) (23:25 GMT)
By Matthew Chance

Cable News Network Writer

Meanwhile, on the official peace process front, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Saturday that "there is no reason for negotiations" with Israel if the Jewish state continues building its West Bank barrier.

GENEVA, Switzerland -- CNN
Israelis and Palestinians arrived Sunday in Geneva for Monday's scheduled signing of the so-called "Geneva Accord," an unofficial agreement aimed at pushing the Mideast peace process forward.

The plan, which calls for significant concessions on both sides of the Mideast conflict, has no official backing from the Palestinian or Israeli administrations.

It is based on behind-the-scenes work by academics from both sides: Israelis who oppose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government and Palestinians, some of whom are close to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

Arafat and Sharon have refused to endorse the plan. Internal dissent in Arafat's Fatah Party has prompted four Palestinian officials -- including two negotiators who helped draft the agreement -- to miss the signing ceremony.

Earlier Sunday, about 100 protesters tried to prevent Palestinian delegates from crossing from Gaza into Egypt on their way to Geneva, witnesses said. The protesters carried Palestinian and Fatah flags and the flag of the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas.

Few politicians are willing to publicly associate themselves with the plan, which seeks to directly address core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian standoff.

For example, it calls for a divided Jerusalem to be capital of both Israel and a proposed Palestinian state.

Both sides lay claim to the ancient city, which was divided between Israeli and Arab control until 1967, when it was captured by Israeli troops during the Six-Day War.

The Palestinians want the eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, and Israelis insist that the city will remain forever undivided and under Israeli control.

* Israeli barrier may block peace talks

(More: CNN.com / World)
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Dan