Israel Gives Hamas Until Year-End To Signal Willingness to Negotiate

[Violet_Crumble]

JERUSALEM -- Israel will give the Palestinians until the end of the year to prove they are willing to negotiate a final peace deal, and will unilaterally set final borders with them by 2008 if they don't, a close associate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's said Tuesday.

Justice Minister Haim Ramon was the first Israeli official to set a deadline for the Palestinians' militant Hamas government to renounce violence and recognize the Jewish state.

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International Mideast peacemakers haven't rejected the notion of unilateral Israeli moves in the West Bank, but say Israel can't draw its final borders on its own. Mr. Bush "has been very clear the final status is something to which parties have to agree," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a meeting of the peacemakers on Tuesday in New York.

Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, said the Israeli government hasn't set an official target for starting unilateral moves and tried to soften the impression that an ultimatum had been set. But she added that prospects for negotiations were dim under a Hamas regime.

"Israel of course prefers a reciprocal process," Ms. Livni told Israel's Army Radio. But "we are looking at the Palestinian side, and ... the chance of reaching an agreement there is close to nil."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114724004184148716.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[bemildred]

1. Gets more Alice in Wonderlandy all the time now ...

:banghead::banghead:

[ShalachEtAmi]

2. Its worth a try... but Hamas is asking the world for more guns...

Negotiation`s and peace do not seem to interest them....

[Violet_Crumble]

3. The same can be said for Israel...

Israel gets its guns from the US, and negotiations and peace weren't on Sharon's to-do list either...

Violet...

[ShalachEtAmi]

4. Sharons gone, Israel is moving on..so should Hamas nt

[Violet_Crumble]

5. So you opposed Sharon?

Somehow I doubt that...

Violet...

[ShalachEtAmi]

6. Your a mind reader now?

The PM of Israel and chief policy maker for the Jewish State is Mr.E.Olmert,Sharon is no longer in that position as he is incapacitated in a Rehab hospital,never to return to political life.Israel has moved on and its time for Israel`s `Critics` who had cloaked themselves in `I am not anti Israel , just anti Likud or anti Sharon` to give the gig up as both are not around.

We now find a centrist Gov. in Israel with a real Progressive Defence Minister and there are no more excuses now...

Hamas should start acting responsible towards its own people who elected them and take the peace track.

Food and not Guns is a good motto...

[Violet_Crumble]

7. No, that's why I asked you the question...

And I notice it wasn't answered. Care to give the question a try? It's just that I'd find it rather hypocritical for those who were huge fans of Sharon to be criticising Hamas for exactly the same things that Sharon did...

Violet...

[ShalachEtAmi]

8. Sharons gone ..Israel has moved on nt

[Violet_Crumble]

9. That's not an answer....

I asked you if you'd supported Sharon. Not a difficult question to answer, I would have thought...

Violet...

[ShalachEtAmi]

10. No that was not your question...

Your question was: ``So you opposed Sharon? ``

And you even kind of answered for me:

``Somehow I doubt that...``

well I will answer myself...

I supported Sharon`s actions on the Gaza disengagement 100% and its lookin like I will support Olmert,Peretz and Peres on Convergence 100% too....