Arafat Seeks Help In Halting Project Diplomats Agree To Attempt To Reduce Israeli-Palestinian Tension Over Proposal

With Israeli bulldozers set to break ground for a new Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem, Yasser Arafat turned Saturday to foreign diplomats for help. He got support - but no promises.

In a four-hour meeting in the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip, Arafat urged envoys from the United States, Russia, Japan, the European Union, Norway, Jordan and Egypt to “save the peace process.”

Recent unilateral Israeli decisions affecting the Palestinians mean “we no longer have a partner,” Arafat said.

The Palestinians are angry over plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to build 6,500 apartments in historically Arab east Jerusalem, where they want to establish a capital. Construction of the Har Homa housing project is expected to start Monday.

Edward G. Abington, the U.S. Consul General to Jerusalem, said the diplomats agreed that “each government would conduct intensive efforts to lower the tension and restore confidence.”

The United States and the other participants would continue to express their concerns to Israel, Abington said.

But he added that the United States believed that bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were “the primary vehicle … and the best way” to resolve problems.

Meanwhile, Israel radio reported Saturday that Israeli and Palestinian politicians and academics have been holding secret meetings in Jerusalem since September to brainstorm about future borders.

The basis of the latest discussions, according to the radio report, is a “land-for-land” swap: Israel would get sovereignty over parts of the West Bank it considers vital to its security in exchange for chunks of territory now considered part of Israel.

The discussions, in which the participants have floated proposals on a land swap, have the official sponsorship of neither the Israeli government nor the Palestinian Authority.

But they are reminiscent of earlier covert dialogues that led to breakthroughs in the peace process.

Marwan Kanifani, a spokesman for Arafat, said the Palestinians were not optimistic that the Gaza meeting would lead to results. But “we cannot stand here doing nothing,” he said.

Israel, which was not invited to the meeting, said it violated peace agreements with the Palestinians, which call for the two sides to take joint action to resolve disputes.

Israel’s Cabinet voted unanimously Friday to go ahead with construction of the Har Homa neighborhood, despite warnings from Israeli intelligence officials that it could lead to violence. The plan has drawn international condemnation, and Palestinian leaders have said it could lead to a new uprising.

Asked what the Palestinian response would be if Israeli bulldozers start work Monday as planned, Arafat said Saturday: “I do not know. You have to ask the Palestinian masses.”

The construction will “destroy the peace process,” he said. Israel “must understand that peace and settlements do not go together.”

Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and later annexed it. It insists the city must remain united under Israeli sovereignty.