National Security Adviser: Israel can't rule out interim agreement with
Palestinians
Uzi Arad says it is unclear whether Israel has a partner for a permanent
agreement, confirms that U.S. made written commitments on incentives
package.
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press Published 18:58 20.11.10
http://www.haaretz.com/news/
National Security Adviser Uzi Arad said Saturday in an interview with
Channel 2 that an interim agreement with the Palestinians cannot be ruled
out.
"It is unclear whether we have a partner for a permanent agreement," said
Arad, who accompanied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his recent United
States visit.
"If a permanent agreement won't be reached, I don't think we should rule out
the possibility of solutions that are less than a permanent settlement," he
told Channel 2.
Arad emphasized that Israel must examine closely whether it has a willing
partner for peace.
"Do we have a partner who is ready to take the same steps for peace that the
prime minister said he will take? Do we have a willing Palestinian
partner?," Arad asked.
Arad claimed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been avoiding
peace talks with Israel for a year now, but stressed that Israel must
continue pushing forward with attempts to restart negotiations.
"We have faced continuous refusal from Abbas to hold direct talks even
though we haven't demanded any kind of precondition from him. He isn't
willing to agree to terms that he was willing to in the past when [Ehud]
Olmert was prime minister," Arad said.
Arad also confirmed for the first time that the United States has made a
written commitment not to pressure Israel to stop West Bank construction
again if it accepts an incentives package aimed at reviving Mideast peace
talks.
Arad also said payment agreements need to be worked out regarding the sale
of F-35 stealth fighters to Israel as part of the package.
Under the deal, Israel will refrain from construction in the West Bank as
part of a 90-day settlement freeze U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
has requested in exchange for a package of incentives.
------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
For free regular subscription:
Subscribe at no charge: imra-subscribe@imra.org.il
Unsubscribe: imra-unsubscribe@imra.org.il
For free daily digest subscription:
Subscribe at no charge: imra-subscribe-digest@imra.
Unsubscribe: imra-unsubscribe@imra.org.il
No comments:
Post a Comment