Region | Palestinian Territories
Israel says peace 'extremely difficult' as Bush prepares for tour
A peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelis will be "extremely difficult" because of longstanding disputes, Israeli President Shimon Peres told The Washington Post in an interview published on Monday, as US President George W Bush is set to visit the Middle East this week.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:13 May 12, 2008
Washington: A peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelis will be “extremely difficult,'' because of longstanding disputes, Israeli President Shimon Peres told The Washington Post in an interview published on Monday, as US President George W Bush is set to visit the Middle East this week.
Commenting on the complexity of reaching a deal, the Israeli leader said: "In the political negotiations, the gaps are not very great, but they are highly emotional. It will be extremely difficult to put them on paper because each party looks to its own audience and will be very careful not to appear as losers."
He went on to argue that different issues cannot be resolved collectively in one deal, but rather need to be dealt with individually.
"We cannot compare, for example, the issue of Jerusalem with the issue of borders," Peres said. "If we can agree on borders, let's agree. If we can agree on refugees, let's agree. It will take time."
The comments came as US President George W. Bush is set to make his second visit in four months to the Middle East this week.
Bush's “farewell visit'' to the region will be marked by celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel, a stop in Saudi Arabia and talks with Arab leaders in Egypt.
In Israel, Bush will deliver the keynote address at a conference hosted by Peres and will hold two separate meetings with the Israeli leaders on Wednesday before attending an official dinner party in his honour the next day.
Leading the agenda will be attempts to revive a peace deal to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict that has made little development since the talks were relaunched in November.
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