Jerusalem - The breakneck timetable of the Israeli prime minister, Mr Ehud Barak, for reaching a peace accord with the Palestinians suffered its first setback yesterday. The much-heralded safe passage route, linking the Gaza Strip with the West Bank, failed to open on time after the two sides could not reach agreement. Talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down late on Saturday. Yesterday the route, which would allow Palestinians to cross Israel to get from one self-ruled zone to another, remained closed.
Last night it was not clear when the negotiations would resume, but Mr Barak sent a hardline message to the Palestinians by appearing at the opening of new archeological excavations bordering the Al-Aqsa and Al-Haram as-Sharif mosque sites on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, occupied by Israel since 1967. Mr Barak's presence indicated that he was not prepared to countenance the repartition of Jerusalem.