29 November 2007
Following the Annapolis conference on Middle East peace, Israel’s prime minister Ehud Olmert has said that failure to negotiate a two-state solution with the Palestinians could threaten Israel's long-term survival. "If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights... then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished," Olmert told ‘Ha’aretz’. The interview was published the day after Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas met US President George W. Bush in Washington to resume the first formal peace talks in seven years.
The meeting at the White House followed Tuesday's conference in Annapolis which ended with a pledge to try to forge a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of 2008. Israel’s president Shimon Peres praised the outcome of the meeting, which was attended by delegates of more than 40 countries, including a number of Arab states. "Many people thought it would end with nothing, but from the impossible, we achieved something," Peres said, adding, however, that "there is still a long way to go, and it won't be simple." He noted that "the meeting in Annapolis wound up a success in the face of a great deal of skepticism and disappointment. It was a political success for the United States and for President Bush, and the leaders of the two delegations did a good job. They were well prepared, and they showed a great deal of flexibility."
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice has named a high-level advisor on Middle East security issues. The retired Marine general James L. Jones, a former NATO commander and a 40-year military veteran, will serve as a special envoy to deal with a broad range of Palestinian and Israeli security issues. "Building security in the Middle East is the surest path to making peace in the Middle East and Gen. Jones is the best individual to lead our efforts in this essential endeavor," Rice said in an appearance with Jones at the State Department.
