Barak Dismisses Peace Plan

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (center) walks past a fighter plane during a ceremony at the Hazerim Air Force Base in southern Israel.

10 August 2007

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was quoted as saying on Friday that talk of any peace deal with Palestine anytime soon was "fantasy," in response to US-led efforts to revive negotiations.

In private conversations reported by Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Barak said he would not carry out plans by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to remove roadblocks in the West Bank as a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

But senior Abbas aide Saeb Erakat said on Friday the Palestinians were told that Barak will present a "map" to remove the checkpoints next week.


Barak's office stopped short of denying the Yedioth report in its entirety, but said: "There is no change in Barak's stance regarding the importance of the political process alongside our obligation to protect Israel's security."

A spokesman for Olmert declined to comment on the report in the mass circulation daily.