Thursday, December 17, 2009

Peres to Palestinian PM: Palestinian refusal for Peace talks are a big mistake

(Haaretz).President Shimon Peres met with Salam Fayyad on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he told the Palestinian prime minister that the frozen peace talks are harming both Israel and the Palestinians.

"The Palestinian Authority is making a big mistake by refusing to negotiate with Israel," Peres told Fayyad. "You won't achieve anything this way. Both sides need to show flexibility. The way things stand, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are suffering as a result of the stalled talks. We must sit down and negotiate."

In his address before the conference Thursday, Peres urged Israel's neighbors, including those with which it does not have diplomatic ties, to join hands to help save the environment.

"Political disagreements should not hinder environmental cooperation," Peres said at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.