A member of the Palestinian negotiating team to summit talks in the United States refused to join his delegation, saying Monday that the key peace talks were destined to fail.
Ziad Abu Amer, an independent member of the Palestinian Authority's Legislative Council (parliament), who was chosen to be among the some dozen negotiators at the upcoming Camp David peace summit, said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's coalition crisis ensured that the talks would fail.
"The Palestinian delegation will come under pressure to make compromises which go against the Palestinian positions," Abu Amer told AFP in Gaza City.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Barak and US President Bill Clinton are due to kick off a round of summit-level negotiations at the Camp David presidential retreat on Tuesday.
"Barak should be under pressure, not us. It is clear that no one can pressure Barak because his government is destroyed," Abu Amer added.
Barak's coalition took a beating on Sunday when three political parties resigned from it.
Palestinians fear the defections will make it impossible for Clinton to press Barak to make the concessions they want to secure a peace deal by a self-imposed September 13th deadline - GAZA CITY (AFP)
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