Israel's opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday to continue peace talks with the Palestinians if elected prime minister, saying he would base such talks on economic development.
An Israeli government under his leadership would work to boost the Palestinian economy as a springboard for - and alongside - diplomatic talks, said the Likud party chairman at the Jewish agency's General Assembly.
"We need to make peace from the bottom up, rather than the top down, by improving the lives of Palestinians so that they have a stake in peace," he was quoted by local daily The Jerusalem Post as saying.
The Likud party chairman clarified, however, that his diplomatic approach remained unchanged.
"I have always been clear about my views, supporting a united Jerusalem and allowing not one Palestinian refugee to enter Israel. This stance of mine has not changed," he was quoted by local news service Ynet as saying.
In response, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Netanyahu's approach would destroy peacemaking because the U.S.-sponsored peace talks are designed to achieve an agreement on all outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians, including the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
"The time to speak about economics and fragmentation is over," Erekat said. "It seems to me that if Mr. Netanyahu thinks this is the course, he is closing the door to any chance for peace."
Under the U.S. pressure, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed last November at a U.S.-hosted international conference in Maryland's Annapolis to relaunch the stalled peace talks aimed to hammer out a comprehensive peace treaty before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
However, since Annapolis, the peace talks have made little substantial progress due to deep rifts on sensitive issues. With time running out, it is highly unlikely to reach the Annapolis target.
As the Annapolis goal is drifting further out of reach, the peace prospect after Israel's February general election also appears elusive, with recent polls indicating a close match between ruling Kadima and Likud.
A victory of the right-wing Likud is expected to draw an even darker picture of the already frustrating peace process, as Netanyahu criticized many of the concessions Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have made in talks with the Palestinians.
Source:Xinhua
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