Here's something of interest, though it didn't seem to get much fanfare in the new media. Article is from Sydney Morning Herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0009/20/text/world9.html
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France backs UN watch over holy sites
Date: 20/09/2000
By ROSS DUNN, Herald Correspondent in Jerusalem
France has agreed to support an American proposal to resolve the dispute over Jerusalem's holy sites by placing the Temple Mount under the supervision of the United Nations Security Council.
The future status of the site, holy to both Jews and Muslims, has become the main obstacle preventing Israel and the Palestinians from reaching a final peace settlement.
Under the American proposal, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council would agree to supervise the Temple Mount, which Muslims refer to as the Noble Sanctuary. The aim is to end the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, who have both been insisting on sovereignty over the site.
The plan was to be discussed last night in Paris by the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, and Israel's top negotiator in the peace talks with the Palestinians, the acting Foreign Minister, Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami.
The meeting is part of efforts by Mr Chirac to help Israel and the Palestinians reach a final peace agreement. He has told the Americans he is willing to support their plan, under which the UN Security Council would monitor a power-sharing arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The proposal is for a future Palestinian state to administer the sites holy to Islam on the Temple Mount, while Israel would continue to maintain the adjoining Western Wall, where Jews pray.
It is still not known whether the proposal will be supported by the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat. In a speech on the Voice of Palestine Radio, he blamed Israel for the crisis in the negotiations.
"The Palestinian people support peace, but not peace at any price," he said, after the Israeli Prime Minister rejected the Palestinian proposal to allow Islamic sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/0009/20/text/world9.html
(((((
France backs UN watch over holy sites
Date: 20/09/2000
By ROSS DUNN, Herald Correspondent in Jerusalem
France has agreed to support an American proposal to resolve the dispute over Jerusalem's holy sites by placing the Temple Mount under the supervision of the United Nations Security Council.
The future status of the site, holy to both Jews and Muslims, has become the main obstacle preventing Israel and the Palestinians from reaching a final peace settlement.
Under the American proposal, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council would agree to supervise the Temple Mount, which Muslims refer to as the Noble Sanctuary. The aim is to end the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, who have both been insisting on sovereignty over the site.
The plan was to be discussed last night in Paris by the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, and Israel's top negotiator in the peace talks with the Palestinians, the acting Foreign Minister, Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami.
The meeting is part of efforts by Mr Chirac to help Israel and the Palestinians reach a final peace agreement. He has told the Americans he is willing to support their plan, under which the UN Security Council would monitor a power-sharing arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The proposal is for a future Palestinian state to administer the sites holy to Islam on the Temple Mount, while Israel would continue to maintain the adjoining Western Wall, where Jews pray.
It is still not known whether the proposal will be supported by the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat. In a speech on the Voice of Palestine Radio, he blamed Israel for the crisis in the negotiations.
"The Palestinian people support peace, but not peace at any price," he said, after the Israeli Prime Minister rejected the Palestinian proposal to allow Islamic sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
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