Amir Peretz: Upcoming Palestinian Government Must Meet International Demands

Sunday February 25, 2007 15:08

by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, said Sunday that the upcoming Palestinian government should meet the international demands concerning recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and acceptance of previously signed agreements, an Israeli daily published.

“Formation of a new Palestinian government must take into account recognition of Israel, adherence to signed agreements and renunciation of violence, otherwise, this government won’t gain Israel’s recognition”. Peretz was quoted.

Peretz said that despite the new composition of such a government, Israel would continue engaging contact with the Palestinian Authority and improve Palestinian living conditions, maintaining that Israel is not waging warfare against the Palestinians but rather against ‘terror’.

The Israeli minister emphasized the necessity that all parties concerned should take into consideration the latest statements by the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, in which the latter hinted that both Israelis and Palestinians ‘have the last chance for peace now’.

King Abdullah II called for a comprehensive political process in the Middle East in order to find a way out of the current deadlock. The international Quartet for promoting peace in the Middle East, comprised of United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia, reiterated last Wednesday in Berlin the aforementioned demands for lifting an economic embargo on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority since last January.

Rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, agreed in the Saudi Arabian city of Makkah two weeks ago to form a power-sharing government that is capable of lifting the economic blockade being imposed on the Palestinian people.

The poverty rate across the Palestinian territories, according to official Palestinian estimates, mounted to approximately 70%, with the economy increasingly deteriorating due to international cut-off of aid.