Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) met at his home with United States Special Envoy George Mitchell’s aide, Fred Hoff on Saturday. The two discussed American demands regarding an Israeli surrender of its heartland to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
On Sunday, Barak is expected to meet with Middle East Quartet Envoy Tony Blair and later with Mitchell himself as well as with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. All three are expected to demand heavy concessions from Barak and some political analysts have expressed suspicion that talks will focus on demolishing Jewish homes and making life difficult for Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, a task Barak is in position to carry out due to the defense ministry’s authority over the Civil Administration for those areas.