Peace is possible, Abbas contends

It was the first time the two leaders pledged to work
together.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that all sides want to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President Bush leaves office, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed what could be the start of the first serious bargaining in seven years.

Abbas said he has received encouraging signs from Israel and from the United States, which would act as a broker for any comprehensive settlement of the six-decade-old conflict. He gave no details.

A settlement is a top priority for the Bush administration for the remaining 14 months of Bush’s term, and Rice was encouraged by what she called solid commitment from the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to bear down for what would be difficult negotiations on the final terms of a Palestinian state.

“I agree with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that there is a real possibility to achieve peace, and I want to reiterate that we are serious about using this opportunity to reach this historical peace,” Abbas said after a meeting with Rice.

It marks the first time the two leaders have publicly pledged to work together under even a loose deadline.

Israeli leader Olmert had said Sunday that vigorous peace negotiations could go far toward establishing an independent Palestinian state before Bush leaves office.

He pledged continuous negotiations following a U.S.-sponsored peace conference later this year, which both Abbas and Rice agreed Monday would be the goal. Bush intends the meeting to launch formal peace negotiations, which broke down amid violence seven years ago.

“I’m quite confident that the will is there on both sides that people want to end this conflict,” a smiling Rice said. Israel and the Palestinians were “moving toward an understanding” that a U.S.-sponsored conference can be a forum to restart long-stalled peace talks, she said.

Rice also met Monday with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator working with Israel to draft a blueprint for future peace talks. Neither side announced any progress in writing the draft since Rice’s last visit to the region three weeks ago, and Rice had said she did not expect to win its completion on this trip.

The document is supposed to be the centerpiece of the Mideast peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Md., later this year.

The Palestinians want the outline to mention the principles for solving each of the key disputes, such as agreement to divide disputed Jerusalem without deciding now on the details. Israel has been cool to addressing this and other key issues like final borders and a solution for Palestinian refugees from the war that followed Israel’s creation in 1948.