Peres Hails ‘Promising Start’ of Newly Launched Middle East Peace Talks
Jerusalem Post — September 3, 2010 — Hillary Clinton declares peace is within Israeli and Palestinian interests in Friday night interview with Israeli and Palestinian reporters; Erekat denies report that negotiating teams scheduled to meet in West Bank.
President Shimon Peres said newly launched peace talks with the Palestinians had a “promising start,†speaking to reporters at an economic conference in Italy on Friday.
Peres stated that the negotiations had a “surprisingly†good beginning, considering the fact that “skepticism prevailed before.â€
The president expressed his hope that the latest round of talks could lead to a peace agreement, saying that the difficulties existing in bridging the gap between the two sides are manageable and those taking part in the negotiations are serious.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated her country’s support for a peace agreement in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis in a joint-interview with Channel 2 and Palestinian media that aired Friday evening.
“We strongly support both the security of the State of Israel and the national aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Clinton told the reporters.
When asked by a Palestinian reporter, Clinton also rejected rumors that Washington’s efforts to move forward peace talks were a ploy to gain Arab support for a military strike on Iran.
Clinton also praised the Israeli and Palestinian “vibrant and growing economies” as forces of “growth and positive energy” that would help both sides achieve peace in the face of forces of negativity advocating destruction.
Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Friday denied an earlier report which claimed Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams would be meeting in the West Bank on Monday, Israel Radio reported.
RELATED:
FM: More realistic goal would be interim peace agreement
‘Jerusalem cannot be the capital of state called Israel’
Hamas to launch ‘more effective attacks’ on Israel
