Hopes of a lasting peace in the war-ravaged Middle East were raised on Tuesday when Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said his country was ”ready to pay any price for peace” in the region, including handing back most of the occupied territories back to the Palestinians.
Addressing the media at the Johannesburg home of former President Nelson Mandela, whom he met in private earlier, Peres made an impassioned plea for an end to bloodshed.
”My prayer is that no more people should lose their lives in our region. We are working together with other nations for peace and brotherhood with Palestine. We are ready to pay any price for peace. We think the Palestinians are our neighbours,” he said.
Paying tribute to Mandela for his continued efforts at ending the war, Peres said the former president was not seen as a great leader for South Africa only, but was regarded as ”belonging to all of us” as well.
”I just want to say to you that with a man like Nelson Mandela in the Middle East, we would long have solved the conflict by now.”
Mandela earlier said he had suggested to Peres — who is also Israeli Deputy Prime Minister — that for a lasting peace in the region, Israel must first withdraw from the Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 Six Days War; the Arab States must recognise the State of Israel and an international commission enjoying the confidence of all the warring parties as well as the United Nations should be established to supervise the existing peace declarations.
This commission, which he had already suggested to United States President George Bush, would consist of the US, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia. He said that Bush had suggested the inclusion of Russia.
”It is wrong for any country, whether it is big or small, to try and solve the problem alone. We want to save human beings. Violence, whether it is perpetrated by Israel or Palestine, has caused death to many people. We have reached a stage where negotiations are the only solution.
Meanwhile, at a South Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce breakfast gathering earlier in the day Peres reiterated that Israel was willing to hand back occupied Palestinian Authority territories.
”In the same manner that Israel handed back land conquered during the war to the Egyptians, it is willing to hand back land to the Palestinians.”
Peres said Israel had long ago moved away from the concept that prosperity depended on land.
”Through better farming methods and making use of science Israel has been producing more food using less and less land.”
A new generation of Palestinians was increasingly committed to peace but the twelve dissident organisations opposing a settlement with Israel continued to bedevil the peace process, he said.
Peres said Israel remained committed to a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and was willing to negotiate in good faith. – Sapa