Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz on Monday proposed a fresh plan for peace in the Middle East that includes talks on the future borders of a Palestinian state within six months, army radio said.
”We need a new roadmap, which will combine the Saudi initiative with the larger principles of the [current] roadmap,” Peretz was quoted as telling a meeting of Labour MPs.
Peretz’s three-stage plan calls for the creation of a new economic and security policy with regard to the Palestinians, negotiations on a future Palestinian state to begin within six months and negotiations on the details of a final accord to take place over 18 months.
The long-stalled ”roadmap” to peace agreed by the quartet of the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations also calls for a three-stage solution.
The Saudi initiative, which stipulated a normalisation of ties after Israel vacates its post-1967 conquests, was endorsed by the Arab League at its 2002 summit in Beirut but was rejected by Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni last month announced she was spearheading a new peace initiative that ”offers a complete solution to the problem of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian refugees”, though she offered few details. — AFP
