Israeli PM doubts deal with Palestinians this year
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed yesterday he would push for a comprehensive peace settlement with the Palestinians but cast doubt on meeting a US-backed goal of sealing it this year.
"We have a desire to reach an agreement within the year 2008. But I am not sure we will make it," he said on a visit to Tokyo.
Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas late last year restarted negotiations with a summit in Annapolis near Washington, ending a long break following a Palestinian uprising in September 2000.
The summit set a goal of concluding a comprehensive agreement by the end of 2008, coinciding with the end of George W. Bush's US presidency.
But despite his reservations, Olmert said Tuesday there was "no better opportunity" than now to reach a settlement on the Middle East conflict.
"We are determined to make a giant step forward to end this dispute once and for all," he said. "We want to make every possible effort to seize this opportunity.
"We are making an exceptional effort to resolve the outstanding disputes with our Palestinian neighbours. We are hoping to conclude an understanding that will lead to a two-states solution, the Palestinian state and the state of Israel," he said.
Bush made his first trip as president to the West Bank and Israel last month.
Later, in his final annual State of the Union address, he vowed: "America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year."
As part of his efforts to reach a peace deal, Olmert is expected to meet in Tokyo with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is on a three-nation tour of East Asia.
Olmert spoke a day after a major demonstration in the Gaza Strip where thousands of mostly young people formed a human chain to protest against an economically crippling Israeli blockade.
Israel closed vital border crossings and restricted supplies to the Gaza Strip after the Islamic militant group Hamas, which does not recognise the Jewish state, seized control of the territory of 1.5 million people in June.
On January 17 Olmert's government began reducing fuel and electricity supplies to Gaza in response to near daily rocket fire on southern Israel.
Two youths were hurt by Israeli bullets in Monday's demonstration while a young Israeli was also injured by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, officials said.
Olmert is on the first trip to Japan by an Israeli premier in more than a decade as he tries to boost tepid trade with the world's second largest economy.
Japan has invested little in Israel in recent years, despite both countries having flourishing technology industries.
Tokyo is a major donor the Palestinian Authority as it seeks a greater role in the Middle East in line with its global aspirations.
"We consider Japan not only an economic but also a political partner which can play a role in the process with the Palestinians," an Olmert adviser told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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