Palestinian PM sees no '08 Israel accord
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister SalamFayyad said on Thursday a lasting peace accord with Israel wasunlikely in 2008 despite renewed diplomatic efforts to resolvethe long-running conflict.
In an interview with Reuters in the Texas capital, Austin,where he is on a private visit, he highlighted the lack ofprogress on the issue of Israeli settlements and militaryincursions into the West Bank as among the chief obstacles inthe "road map" to peace and Palestinian statehood.
"I do not believe though that the final resolution ... willbe complete in the course of this year. I don't think that islikely," Fayyad said.
On a trip to the Middle East last month, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush said he believed a peace treaty between Israeland the Palestinians would be signed before he leaves office inJanuary 2009.
The U.S. government will assess and judge whether Israeland the Palestinians are meeting their obligations under the2003 road map as part of a push for a Palestinian statehoodagreement before Bush leaves office.
In the interview, Fayyad said: "The short-term track is notmoving as well as it needs to for the political process, fornegotiations. In particular, the lack of an adequately firmcommitment with regard to (Israeli) settlements," he said.
Israel has yet to fulfil its road map commitments to haltJewish settlement activity and to uproot outposts built withoutgovernment permission in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli officials have said Palestinians have a long way togo to meet their security obligations under the road map.
Fayyad repeated his government's criticism of Israelimilitary incursions into West Bank towns like Nablus in pursuitof Palestinian militants, saying such actions undermined itsown efforts to impose law and order.
"Our efforts are undermined, our credibility is underminedparticularly in areas where we have made progress," he said.
Palestinian forces last year began executing a plan devisedby Fayyad's Western-backed government to crack down on armedmilitias.
Israel fears any West Bank areas it hands over to thePalestinians could, like the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, beused by militants as launching points for rocket attacks onIsraeli towns.
International Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Thursdaythat Palestinian security forces had significantly improved andwere starting to carry out their part in a long-stalled roadmap peace plan.
Fayyad said militias linked to the militant Palestiniangroup Hamas and others were also not helping matters for hisembattled government.
Asked if his government wanted them to disarm, he said:"Yes, of course. All militias. Hamas and everyone else.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)