|
Abbas calls for peace deadline
30/10/2007 19:30 - (SA)
Cairo - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday called for a six-month deadline for a final status deal with Israel following a US-sponsored international peace meeting due later this year.
Abbas made the call after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and as Palestinian and Israeli teams seek to draft a joint document outlining the parameters for an agreement to be discussed at the peace meeting.
"This document must... set an adequate timeframe to complete negotiations on a final resolution after the next meeting," Abbas told journalists.
'Six months is enough time'
"We have proposed a maximum timeframe of six months. Until now, we haven't reached an agreement with the Israelis or the Americans on this timeframe, but we feel it is sufficient," he said.
"Six months is enough time to discuss and agree on the problems of the final phase", adding that "we will not accept leaving these questions open forever".
The head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Ahmed Qorei, echoed the call in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
"We will not accept any document that does not include a clear timetable, despite Israeli reservations," he said.
Both sides hope to have the document ready before the convening of the US-sponsored international meeting aimed at reviving the peace process and expected to take place in Annapolis, Maryland later this year.
Abbas said the meeting would take place "at the end of November or beginning of December, the date hasn't yet been fixed."
The United States has not yet set a date for the conference, nor listed those countries to be invited.
Israel refuses to commit to a timeframe for a peace deal, demanding that the Palestinians first crack down on militants.
- AFP
|
News
