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Israeli Acting FM Calls for Tough Decisions by Israel, Palestinians
Israeli acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said here on Monday that Israel and the Palestinians must make tough decisions in a bid to achieve peace.
During a lightening visit, Ben-Ami met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and held talks with Foreign Minister Amr Moussa to discuss the latest developments of the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and ideas proposed by all parties concerned to the peace process.
Speaking to reporters after the meetings, Ben-Ami said there have been many ideas and proposals aimed at helping Israel and the Palestinians resolve the thorny issues in their negotiations.
"We must now make tough choices" in an effort to reach a framework agreement covering all core issues, especially the most difficult issue of Jerusalem, he said.
The Israeli top negotiator in the faltering peace talks with the Palestinians said his country is making "sincere attempts" to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians.
But in the meantime, he said, Israel would consider a partial agreement if a comprehensive deal in out of reach.
Israel never rules out the possibility to delay the issue of Jerusalem in case a comprehensive agreement can not be reached, Ben-Ami said.
But this question is not on the agenda at this moment when all parties are trying to exhaust the possibilities to reach an agreement on all pending issues, he added.
Ben-Ami wrapped up the brief visit to Egypt after the meetings and traveled to Amman, Jordan for further discussions on the Mideast peace process.
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