By Xinhua,
Jerusalem : Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday that a rigid timetable for Israel and the Palestinians to forge a peace agreement may lead to negative results.
“The timeframe for reaching the agreements is important, but the content is even more so. Rigid timeframes may lead to unreal expectations, disappointments and violence,” Livni told a U.S. congressional delegation led by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Both sides must be given room and time to broker a long-term agreement which truly represents their interests, Livni was quoted by local daily Yedioth Ahronoth as saying, warning that “vague agreements will only prolong the conflict.”
The foreign minister believed the current situation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to be an impediment to the peace process, saying the coastal region “is on its way to becoming a regional problem, hindering any possibility of reaching a comprehensive agreement.”
Israelis and Palestinians resumed the long-stalled peace talks at a U.S.-hosted international conference in Annapolis, Maryland last November, and pledged to strike a comprehensive peace agreement before U.S. President George W. Bush steps down in January.
During his latest five-day visit to the Middle East, Bush said an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal was possible by 2009 amid growing skepticism in the Arab world over the long-awaited peace accord.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has also said his country is committed to the Annapolis process, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed pessimism, saying no significant progress has yet been made.