Last update - 00:00 09/02/2008
PA negotiator: Peace deal possible in 2008 if sides honor commitments
By Reuters
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' top negotiator Ahmed Qureia told a U.S. envoy on Saturday that a peace deal with Israel would only be possible in 2008 if commitments by both sides were met.
Qureia told visiting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State David Welch that Israel has not met its obligations under the long-stalled "road map" peace plan, such as halting all settlement activity and uprooting unauthorized outposts in the West Bank.
"We talked about the possibility of achieving peace this year and an agreement with Israel this year. We said yes it is possible but with good will from both sides," Qureia said.
He added the peace process would require continuous support from the Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - and the international community.
During a visit to Israel and the West Bank last month, U.S. President George W. Bush set as a goal reaching an agreement on Palestinian statehood before he leaves office next January.
However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has already made clear he won't implement any statehood agreement until Abbas reins in militants in the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who heads Abbas' Western-backed government in the West Bank, told reporters Thursday that he did not believe a "final resolution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be completed in 2008.
Related articles: