Palestinians Israelis resume talks but clash over Jewishness of Jewish state

Compiled by Daily Star staff (Arab news site)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007


Israeli and Palestinian officials resumed preparatory talks on Monday for a US-hosted conference, a day after Palestinian negotiators were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint and a session was called off. Meanwhile, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said he would release 400 Palestinian prisoners, but he also warned the US-sponsored conference might last "a few hours." Israeli President Shimon Peres said peace was attainable, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit hinted that Egypt might not even attend the gathering.
An Israeli government official gave no details of the talks with Palestinian negotiators, other than to say that they had ended for the day.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the session as "difficult" and said the officials had yet to begin drafting a joint document expected to be presented at the conference on Palestinian statehood in Annapolis, Maryland in late November.
"The problem over the content of the document has not yet been resolved," Erekat told Reuters, adding that the negotiating teams planned to meet again on Tuesday.
Deepening diplomatic disagreement ahead of the conference, Erekat publicly rebuffed Israel's demand that it be recognized as a Jewish state.
While recognizing the right of Israel to exist, Erekat said: "The Palestinians won't accept Israel as a Jewish state."
Olmert, in a broadcast appearance before his parliamentary faction, reaffirmed his vision of mutual Israeli-Palestinian recognition but indicated it may not come up at Annapolis.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin declined to comment directly on Erekat's remarks, but said recognition of Israel's identity was key to any peace process. "This is not something that is up for discussion. It is a basic creed of the state of Israel," she added. "Our country is a Jewish democratic state. We expect to be recognized as such by any country that would expect to have a peace treaty with us."
A meeting scheduled for Sunday was scrapped after chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qoreia and other members of his team, traveling from the occupied West Bank, were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint on their way to the venue inside Israel.
The negotiators have been meeting regularly ahead of the conference in Annapolis in the last week of November, but have been struggling to narrow differences over the joint document. Both sides have said they want talks on Palestinian statehood and peace to follow the event.
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Olmert pledged Monday to release over 400 Palestinian prisoners and predicted Israelis and Palestinians would be able to hammer out a peace accord.
But Olmert lowered expectations for the conference, saying it would "only be for a few hours." Negotiators will need a year or longer after the talks to work out a final deal, he said.
Israel has released about 340 prisoners since July, even as it continues to round up suspected militants in frequent raids in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians recently asked Olmert to release 2,000 more before the summit.
Olmert told the committee the Annapolis summit would be "a few hours, maybe a day," and it would be a formal launching of intense negotiations.
"I hope these negotiations won't take more than a year, but we won't be committed to any target date," he told the committee, according to meeting participants.
Olmert expressed confidence he could reach a peace accord with the Palestinians.
"It is not impossible to bridge the gaps," he was quoted as saying by participants who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peres promised on Monday that his country would work for a tangible result at the Annapolis conference, saying that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians.
"Israel has decided to make Annapolis a success, to bring an end to the conflict, to finally make peace between the Palestinians and ourselves," Peres said in Ankara. "It takes time
to make peace ... but I believe we can make peace now with the Palestinians."
Abu al-Gheit, meanwhile, hinted that Egypt may not even attend the Annapolis gathering.
His remarks came after talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Abbas as diplomatic efforts to convene the conference have moved into high gear.
Abu al-Gheit said the conference should launch peace negotiations that end with "fulfilling the dream of a Palestinian state."
"If the meeting in Annapolis will achieve that goal, let us all go to achieve that Palestinian goal," he said. "But if [it] ... will not achieve that goal, then I think Egypt and other Arab countries will have reservations about participating." - Reuters, AP