By Xinhua,
Ramallah : A senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday that the current Israeli political crisis facing the current government led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was “an internal Israeli affair.”
“What happens in Israel and the calls on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign are completely an Israeli internal affair, and the Palestinian leadership won’t interfere in it,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian presidency.
Abu Rudeineh, however, admitted “what happens in Israel would leave negative impact on the peace talks,” which were resumed at a U.S. sponsored peace conference last November and are ongoing with the aim to establish an independent Palestinian state before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
“All what we are concerned about is to have an Israeli prime minister, who is totally committed to the peace process,” said Abu Rudeineh.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Olmert to leave his post or prepare for early elections, saying he did not believe Olmert was capable of simultaneously leading Israel and dealing with his personal matters.
Barak’s call came one day after Jewish American businessman Morris Talansky told a preliminary hearing at Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Tuesday that he has given Olmert 150,000 U.S. dollars over a period of 15 years.
The testimony is part of an investigation into Olmert, who is suspected of illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky.
Meanwhile, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat sounded not optimistic over striking a permanent peace agreement with Israel as scheduled.
“We hope that we will be able to reach an agreement by the end of the year. The gaps are still large and we still face difficulties in the negotiations,” Erekat told “Voice of Palestine” radio earlier on Wednesday.