Peres: Chance for talks will be lost if we wait till all sides ready - Haaretz

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Mon., January 14, 2008 Shvat 7, 5768

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		Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Queria. (AP)

Last update - 18:04 14/01/2008

Peres: Chance for talks will be lost if we wait till all sides ready

By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service

Tags: Ehud Olmert, peace process

If intensive contact between Israel and the Palestinians is postponed until both sides are ready then the chance for progressive negotiations this year will be lost, President Shimon Peres said on Monday.

"There is no point in waiting until both sides are ready for negotiations," Peres said, during a visit to the northern town of Yokne'am.

"If we don't work with vigor we are likely to miss an important year allowing for progress," the president added, pointing out that in addition to a change in U.S. leadership in 2009, both the Palestinians and Israeli could also expect elections in the near future.

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Meanwhile chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia, launched on Monday a series of intensive meetings meant to tackle the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"They started talking about the core issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel confirmed. The two plan to meet about once weekly, Israeli officials said, but had no further details.

The two also decided their future meetings would be conducted under a low media profile. Before Monday's meeting, Livni said that "past experience proves that discussions held in front of cameras cause increasingly extreme stances, the twisting of statements, rising expectations, disappointments and eventually violence. If I have to choose between dramatic daily headlines and results, I choose results."

Sources said that in addition to core issues, the two discussed the increasing tension between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is said to be planning on quitting the government coalition over the peace negotiations.

The meeting started shortly after 11:00 A.M. at a Jerusalem hotel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that the negotiators will tackle six issues in their meetings: Jerusalem, West Bank settlements, Palestinian refugees, borders, security and water resources.

"If we reach an agreement on all these issues, then we can say that we have reached a final agreement," Abbas said.

Government spokesman Mark Regev confirmed that the negotiating teams received a mandate to begin discussions on the core issues.

Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to restart peace talks, frozen during seven years of violence, at a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November. Last week, before Bush's arrival, they told their negotiating teams to get down to discussing the core issues. Previous negotiations have broken down over these topics, as so far neither side has been willing to compromise enough to satisfy the other.

On Sunday, Olmert said the fact that unauthorized settlement outposts are
still there, four years after Israel pledged to remove them, is a disgrace.

Olmert was speaking at a closed meeting of party backers. His harsh label
followed a public rebuke by Bush during his visit last week.

About 400 Israelis live in outposts, according to the anti-settlement Peace Now movement, in addition to about 270,000 who live in more than 120
authorized settlements.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whose office oversees settlement activity, has reached an agreement with settlers that they will dismantle on their own 18 of the 26 outposts that Israel must evacuate according to an agreement with the United States and the Palestinians, Haaretz has learned.

At Sunday's Cabinet meeting, Olmert summed up his talks with Bush last week, outlining points of agreement between Israel and the United States.

Olmert said Bush assured him that Gaza militants would have to be subdued
before any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could be reached.

He repeated the absolute commitment of the U.S. that "no agreement between us and the Palestinians can be implemented on the ground before the full implementation of the road map, both in Gaza and in the West Bank," Olmert said.

Related articles:

Israel and PA to form panel to negotiate core Mideast issues

Rice: Only focus on core issues can advance the peace process

ANALYSIS: Olmert gets by with a little help from Bush

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1.	Core ISSUES	13:23	\|	Avraham	14/01/08

2.	The elephant in the room	14:08	\|	Natallie Durson	14/01/08

3.	the core issue is when do israels goalposts stop moving?	15:18	\|	v hardman	14/01/08

4.	Core Isuues	15:42	\|	Mendy	14/01/08

5.	CORE MEETING	15:51	\|	Zyskandar A. Jaimot	14/01/08

6.	3. victoria and her none moving non sense	15:58	\|	pay attention stupid	14/01/08

7.	Bad equation	16:35	\|	Choni Davidowitz	14/01/08

8.	Peace is not possible	17:46	\|	Sam	14/01/08

9.	Best time for Israel to sign deal: Bush best option for Israel	18:44	\|	Eric	14/01/08

10.	I DON`T BELIEVE PEACE IS POSSIBLE: MAJOR WAR WILL SOLVE PROB.	18:45	\|	Kokonot	14/01/08

11.	Still the old config can be used is. Please read	18:48	\|	Simon Mohammed	14/01/08

12.	Isarel wants it all: settlements, Jerusalem, no right of return..	18:48	\|	Daniel	14/01/08

13.	PALESTINIANS SHOULD REFUSE PALESTINIAN STATE UNDER ISRAELI TERMS	18:53	\|	TrippleJump	14/01/08

14.	Peres` statement makes no sense	19:32	\|	MichaelF	14/01/08

15.	#2 - Natallie Durson	19:34	\|	MichaelF	14/01/08

16.	#12 - Daniel	19:40	\|	MichaelF	14/01/08

17.	#13 - TrippleJump	19:42	\|	MichaelF	14/01/08

18.	Michael F.	19:51	\|	Connie	14/01/08

19.	Simon Mohammed #11: one sticking problem, though -	20:01	\|	ivo	14/01/08

20.	peres is the one to talk	20:16	\|	charles	14/01/08

21.	Peres - In His Own Little World (Sans Reality)	20:22	\|	Tod Zuckerman	14/01/08

22.	to # 19, you are making a real good point but missing one more	20:40	\|	Simon Mohammed	14/01/08

23.	Simon Mohammed #22: you`ve got a great attitude -	22:33	\|	ivo	14/01/08

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