JERUSALEM — A senior Palestinian negotiator has backtracked on a major concession made during the U.S.-brokered Camp David talks, and says his side is no longer willing to discuss ceding some West Bank territory to Israel.
Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, rejected Israel's demand that most Jewish settlers be allowed to remain in the West Bank, under Israeli sovereignty, concentrated in large blocs of settlement.
"These blocs would mean continuation of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land," he said in remarks broadcast on Palestinian radio Sunday.
Qureia also rejected Israel's insistence on retaining a strip of land in the Jordan Valley for up to 20 years, for reasons of security.
At the Camp David talks in July, the Palestinians became the first Arab negotiators to discuss ceding territory. Palestinian negotiators said they were ready to give up the land in exchange for land in Israel proper. Israelis confirmed that, but said the amount of Israeli land would be only "symbolic."
Israel also appeared to backtrack on some of its breakthrough concessions at Camp David, including acknowledging the refugee crisis created by its creation in 1948.
In addition, Palestinians say Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has failed to implement long-standing interim agreements to release prisoners and hand over more territory.
The two sides remained divided on the future of Jerusalem, where the Palestinians wish to establish their capital alongside that of Israel. It was over Jerusalem that the Camp David summit broke down.
Qureia said Israel must recognize full Palestinian sovereignty over all of east Jerusalem. "After that Israeli interests can be discussed," he said.
The most sensitive issue is who will control the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. It is the third holiest place in the Islamic world but is also sacred to Jews because it is the site of the first and second Jewish temples.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said Sunday that Israel will never give up sovereignty over the site. "The principle which guides Israel is that we came to the site of the temple never to be separated from it, and never to give up sovereignty there."
Talks have resumed, albeit at a low level. One round was held in New York during the Millennium Summit, and another was launched somewhere in the region Sunday evening, Palestinian officials said. Mohammed Dahlan, who heads security in the Gaza Strip, led the talks for the Palestinian side, and Gilead Sher, a lawyer, was representing Israel, said the officials.
In an apparent reflection of the deadlock, about 50 Palestinian schoolchildren aged 10-13 pelted Israeli troops and police with stones and empty bottles Sunday at the Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip. Police responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. Five children and one Israeli border policeman were injured.
Around 50 children tried to break into the nearby Jewish settlement of Netzarim but were driven back by Palestinian police.
The attack was attributed to the stalemate in the peace negotiations but also to the anniversary of the 1982 massacre of Palestinians by Israel's Christian allies at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut.
The Israeli army retaliated by closing to Palestinian trucks the two crossing points from the Gaza Strip into Israel.