Brussels, 28/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - A peace agreement by the end of 2008: this was the objective set out by the Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday 27 November, at the end of the Annapolis conference where around 50 countries were represented. By agreeing to immediately begin bilateral relations to resolve the conflict, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, decided in a joint declaration, to make “all possible efforts to reach an agreement before the end of 2008”.
On Wednesday 28 November, the two men met again in Washington at the invitation of the US president George W. Bush to launch these negotiations, which will focus on “all pending questions”: the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees (more than 4 million) and the Jewish settlements, the sharing of water resources, the marking out of borders. The Annapolis declaration also calls for a pilot committee, headed by the Israeli minister, Tzipi Livni, and the Palestinian negotiator-in-chief, Ahmad Qorei. An initial meeting will take place on 12 December and the whole of the process is expected to be given a structure. The US is expected to assess the state of negotiations. Two follow-up conferences are also planned: in Paris on 17 December (donors' conference organised by the Quartet - US, Russia, EU and UN) and in Moscow at the beginning of next year.
In a press release published on Tuesday after the conference, the Portuguese presidency welcomed the commitment by the two parties to reach a peace agreement in 2008 and underlined the importance of providing adequate follow-up mechanisms. The Annapolis conference represents a turning point for regional and international partners to effectively support a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and, in this context, the EU presidency welcomes the wide and broad participation of key international actors, in particular the presence of the members of the Arab League follow-up committee. Mr Bush described the conference as a success, declaring, “The time is right. The cause is just. And with hard effort, I know they can succeed”. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said that these negotiations would achieve no results. Syria called for a resumption in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, pointing out that normalisation in relations with Israel would be done through a return to the 1967 borders. The Israelis also had some doubts. The minister in charge of strategic affairs and head of the far right “Israel Beitenou” party, Avigdor Lieberman said that the chances of an agreement in the next 14 months were practically nil. (A.B.)