USA: Israel and Palestinians commit to 2008 peace treaty

At the mideast summit in Annapolis, Maryland, Israel and Palestinians take a further step towards committing to further negotiations and a peace treaty by the end of 2008. With handshakes, leaders of the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Tuesday (November 27) to launch immediate talks to try to secure a peace deal by the end of 2008 that would create a Palestinian state. President George W. Bush announced the agreement at the opening of a 44-nation Middle East peace conference, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas standing at his side. But all three leaders are politically weak at home, raising doubts whether they can make good on their commitments. "The time is right, the cause is just, and I know that with hard effort they can succeed," Bush told delegates to the daylong conference, which included 14 Arab states -- among them Syria and Saudi Arabia -- as well as major powers Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The U.S.-backed peace effort is the most intense in the seven years since the collapse of negotiations and the outbreak of Middle East violence in the twilight of Bill Clinton's presidency. The sides must overcome deep skepticism everywhere. Bush hopes to achieve in his final 14 months in office what has eluded U.S. leaders for decades, but the unpopular war in Iraq could limit his room to maneuver. Olmert's public standing is low, partly due to last year's Lebanon war, and Abbas lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in June. In need of a boost to his legacy before leaving office in January 2009, Bush arranged for an awkward handshake between the two leaders next to the podium where he announced the agreement. All smiles, the three leaders drew rounds of applause as they spoke to representatives gathered around a U-shaped table in a majestic hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, 32 miles (51 km) from Washington, D.C. The accord emerged from lengthy, last-minute talks on a joint document meant to chart the course for negotiating the toughest "final status" issues of the conflict -- Jerusalem, borders, security and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Bush said Israel and the Palestinians would try to reach an agreement on a treaty and statehood by the end of 2008. Their representatives would hold a first session in Jerusalem on Dec. 12 and Abbas and Olmert would meet every other week. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Bush would "inaugurate those negotiations" at the White House on Wednesday. Bush will meet separately with Abbas and Olmert and then hold a three-way session. "No one believes that failure is an option," Rice told reporters at the end of the conference. Outside the talks, Palestinian aide Saeb Erakat told reporters that "the most important thing is tomorrow." Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Gillerman, said that he was pleased that representatives from neighboring Arab countries decided to attend the summit. He cited Iran as the catalyst for their decision to attend. "What we're seeing here today in Annapolis is indeed a show of support of the Arab brethrens for the process in the face of the real danger which is Iran, Tehran, and that lunatic ranting president who is denying the Holocaust while preparing the next one," said Gillerman. Among the Arab "brethrens" present at the summit was a delegation from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Ambassador the the United States Adel al-Jubeir told reporters that peace in the Middle East can only come through deeds, not words. "America had a great president once by the name of Harry Truman and he, his attitude was always 'Show me'." said al-Jubier. " We would like to to see the words translate into deeds and that's how one will judge this process."

ITN Source | November 28, 2007

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