[Reuters] A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians will not be reached for at least three to five years, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported Israel's defense minister as saying. In private conversations, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the idea of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians anytime soon was a "fantasy." He also said that Israel would not withdraw from the West Bank before finding a solution to Palestinian rocket attacks. "What will determine the situation in the end is if Abu Mazen (Abbas) and (Palestinian Prime Minister) Salam Fayyad are capable of implementing anything in the West Bank," Barak was quoted as saying.
2007-08-10 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive