Ehud Barak advocates "two states for two people" and a divided Jerusalem

May 11, 2007

Ehud Barak (MaanImages Archive)

Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli Knesset member and leading member of Israel's Labor party, Ehud Barak, advocated on Friday a two-state solution – "two states for two people" – with the division of Jerusalem.

Barak's statement came during a conference for Labor party activists in Kiryat Taf'on, in which he clarified his political program and his plan for a peaceful agreement with the Palestinians. "Within the peace agreements, Jerusalem will stay without the Arab districts in it, and there will be no harm to the religious places," he said.

He added, "There will be no agreements with enemies unless they understand that it is not possible to exhaust Israel with terror or weaken it militarily".

The Israeli Labor Party is due to hold party elections on 28 May and many expect Barak to win. He may then push for new Israeli parliamentary elections. "If on May 28, I am elected leader of the Labor Party, and the prime minister [Ehud Olmert] has not yet reached personal conclusions, I will push for new Knesset elections," he told a press conference last week, according to the Israeli media.