Peace possible by 2009 - Olmert

2007-11-05 07:25

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he may be able to make peace with the Palestinians by the end of 2008, as the United States vowed to defend Israel's security during the difficult process.

"If we act decisively together, we and the Palestinians, there is a chance for us to reach real achievements, maybe even before the end of President (George W) Bush's term," he said at the Saban Forum think-tank in Jerusalem.

"There is no intention to drag out the negotiations without end. There is no reason to again hit the foot-dragging that characterised our talks in the past," the premier said.

Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in intensive talks in an effort to draft a joint statement outlining a solution to the decades-old conflict ahead of a meeting in Annapolis, Maryland expected later this year.

The two sides plan to launch intensive bilateral talks on a permanent agreement following the international meeting, aimed at reviving a peace process that has been dormant for seven years.

The Palestinians have repeatedly demanded that the joint statement include a clear timetable for the negotiations, but Israel has insisted on a looser document based on a 2003 peace blueprint known as the roadmap.

US vows to defend Israel

At the same event US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice vowed to defend Israel as it pushes ahead with the peace process, saying that it was time for all sides to make the difficult decisions necessary for a lasting peace.

"All Israelis should be confident that America is fully behind you, that we are fully committed to your security and that you can thus be bold in your pursuit of peace," she said.

Rice, on her eighth visit to the region since the beginning of the year, warned that if peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians flounder, extremists would take over the Palestinian leadership.

"If we do not act now to show the Palestinians a way forward, others will show them a way forward," Rice said. "Failure is simply not an option."

- AFP