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Israeli FM Says Deal With Palestinians Possible In Three Weeks
CAIRO (IslamOnline) - Israeli Foreign Minister Sholomo Ben-Ami said on Thursday after talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that a deal with the Palestinians before scheduled Israeli elections was "possible".
Ami told Israeli Radio that a deal was "possible, not impossible" before Israelis go to the polls February 6th to choose a prime minister.
Incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Barak looks poised to lose the elections to the extremist leader of the Likud, Ariel Sharon, unless he secures a peace deal with the Palestinians, analysts say.
"It's an effort to climb to the summit if the Prime Minister is prepared to undertake it," Ami said. He said that he noticed a "real desire" for peace by the Palestinians too.
News agencies reported that Israeli sources said Ami and Barak's chief of staff, Gilead Sher, were scheduled to meet with top Palestinian negotiators Ahmed Korei and Saeb Erekat later on Thursday to try and close an agreement based on a peace proposal put by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Ami held talks with Arafat in Cairo Wednesday as peace efforts intensified. Israel and the Palestinians have both said they wanted an end to a cycle of violence that has gripped the Occupied Territories since September 28th.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says that 339 of those killed so far were Palestinians, with the Israeli Defense Forces saying that 44 are Israeli Jews and 13 are Israeli Arabs.
The Palestinians started their street protests, known as the Intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation troops after Sharon encroached on the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site. Jews consider the area, calling it the Temple Mount, holy as well.
Outgoing President Clinton had hoped to secure a deal between the two sides before he left office. He proposed a peace plan that would eliminate the right of millions of Palestinians to return to their land, annexed by Israel in different wars with the Arabs, in exchange for shares of land in the West Bank and Gaza.
However, both sides have yet to come to an agreement and many observers note that time is quickly running out for Clinton and his peace plan. Clinton leaves office Saturday after eight years in the White House.
Incoming secretary of state Colin Powell said Wednesday the new administration of President-elect George W. Bush would take a "wait-and-see" approach until after the Israeli election.
Arafat, however, said today no progress was achieved in talks with Ami. Arafat believes that there must be a reduction in violence to conduct negotiations.
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