By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair has said that a deal would be possibly reached between Israel and the Palestinians before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on its website on Friday.
“Sure, it is absolutely possible to have a peace deal by the end of the year if people want to make it happen,” Blair was quoted as saying.
“Given the determination there is to succeed and given the desire on the part of the American leadership, the Israeli leadership, the Palestinian leadership to see it happen, I think people could be surprised this year,” he added.
The former British premier, meanwhile, emphasized that both Israeli and Palestinian sides should “have the courage to take the difficult decisions to make the difficult compromises.”
Blair specifically termed the Israel’s national security as the guarantee for the future peace deal and the establishment of a state for Palestinian people.
“People in Israel – they don’t want to pay the price of the world’s desire to have a peace deal, and I totally understand that and I am a strong supporter of the state of Israel, and this should only happen under terms which guarantee Israel’s security,” he said.
“I think there is nothing more important in the battle against… extremism and terrorism that is fairly deep-rooted in many parts of the world today,” he added.
The same idea is shared by visiting U.S. President George W. Bush, who on Thursday summed up his two-day meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders by saying that a peace accord would require “painful political concessions by both sides.”
Also in a statement released to the media on Thursday, Bush called for an end to what he said was the 40-year “occupation” of the West Bank, and for signing a peace treaty before he leaves office in January 2009.
Bush arrived in Israel on Wednesday noon to start his historic visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He is expected to leave on Friday noon for next visits in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
And there are media reports speculating that he will also make a surprise visit to Iraq.