Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, is expected to raise controversial issues in today’s OSCE conference in Istanbul. Ha'aretz Newspaper reports that the Prime Minister is to "…ask the leaders he meets at [the] conference in Istanbul to help lower Palestinian expectations of the final status agreement--especially regarding territorial compromise and the right of [Palestinian] refugees to return to Israel."

The reports add that Barak will insist that, even after the reaching of a final agreement with the Palestinians, Israel will still be vulnerable to military threats from Islamic fundamentalists in neighboring states, thus, would require safe and recognized international boundaries.

Such desperate attempts by Barak to influence international opinion seem to reflect his shortsighted and narrow military perception of the peace process. By advocating unjustifiable positions such as the “impossibility” of return to the Palestinian refugees, Barak is violating the very spirit and letter of the peace process and placing unnecessary obstacles in the road to reconciliation.

We stress that the foundation of any Palestinian-Israeli agreement to “end the conflict” must be UN Resolution 242, in which the boundaries of the Palestinian entity are clearly outlined. Furthermore, the Palestinian refugees’ right of return is an undisputable legal provision under UN Resolution 194, which neither Barak nor his government are able to alter.

Ironically, while Barak is seeking international assistance to “…lower Palestinian expectations,” he himself is “falsely” raising the expectations of Israelis. So far, his language in dealing with the peace process has negatively influenced Israeli public opinion, in that he has become captive to his own rhetoric. Barak’s “loudspeaker diplomacy“ should not be permitted to jeopardize the “real” spirit of peace. This policy, which is bound to backfire on the Prime Minister, is neither in the interest of Israel, nor Palestine, nor Peace itself.