Olmert plays down hopes of Palestinian peace deal before end of 2008

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday played down expectations for a peace deal with the Palestinians before the end of 2008 as laid out at a US-sponsored peace conference last week.

“We will make an effort to hold speedy negotiations in the hope we may conclude by the end of 2008, but certainly there is no commitment for a firm timetable for their completion,” said Mr Olmert at the start of the Israeli cabinet meeting yesterday.

US President George W Bush assured Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, that Washington would actively engage in peacemaking, despite scepticism over chances for a deal before he leaves office.

Launching the first formal peace talks in seven years at the conference, Mr Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas agreed to try and reach a deal on creating a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank by the end of next year.

However, sceptics say Mr Bush’s timescale for peacemaking is too ambitious as both leaders are politically weak.

Speaking at the first cabinet meeting since Annapolis, Mr Olmert urged caution.

In an apparent hint to right-wing coalition partners that he was not planning concessions without reciprocal moves from the Palestinians, he said any progress on peace would depend on adhering to commitments under a stalled US peace “road map”.

“The most important thing in the joint statement is... any agreement that we reach in the future will be dependent on completion of all road map commitments.

In other words, Israel will not have to implement any commitment which emanates from the agreement before all the road map commitments have been met.”

The 2003 US road map provides benchmarks including a freeze of Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, as well as a Palestinian crackdown on militants.

Meanwhile, Israel allowed 199 Palestinians out of the blockaded Gaza Strip yesterday.

Five bus-loads of Palestinians entered Israeli territory and crossed into Egypt through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, said Shadi Yassin, a spokesman for the Israeli civil administration.

Israeli security forces prevented two others from leaving Gaza.

About 50 others, who were expected to pass yesterday, are due to be released today, Mr Yassin said.

“We intend to continue to get as many people as possible out of Gaza over the next few days,” said Mr Yassin.