Frank Kane
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND // A lasting peace deal between Israel and Palestine "might happen very quickly," Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"We are sorry it has taken so long but we are nearer, at the final stage," Mr Peres said during a debate with Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, at Davos, the Swiss town hosting the annual gathering of the world's leading decision-makers.
Mr Fayyad said: "There must be a hope for peace but it has to be a product of conscious decision-making."
Both politicians were critical of the actions of the Middle East Quartet of powers - the US, European Union, Russia and the United Nations - which have been mediating peace negotiations between the two sides since 2002.
The Quarter "are putting the parties in a position where they have to respond under pressure," said Mr Fayyad.
"They keep setting dates which are too arbitrary and we might make mistakes under pressure," said Mr Peres.
Klaus Schwab, the founder of the Davos forum, posed the question: "Is there still reason for hope we will have reconciliation between Israel and Palestine?"
Mr Peres answered: "I am convinced there will be peace based on a two-state solution. We have not been standing still. At the same time as carrying on with diplomacy, the Palesinians have done a good job in two ways: they have started to build a state, they are building a modern city in Ramallah. And they have built a security force, with 15,000 people trained in Jordan by the US. For the first time, [the Palestinians] can provide for their own security."...READ MORE
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
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