Israeli Leader Dampens Peace Deal Hopes
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that a peace deal with the Palestinians wouldn't necessarily be concluded by the end-year target that he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set.
Olmert, speaking to a business forum in Japan, said, however, that his government was "absolutely determined" to end the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.
"The desire is to make an agreement within the year 2008," he told business leaders in Tokyo. "I'm not sure we will be able to achieve it, and certainly not to implement it in the year 2008."
President Bush oversaw a Mideast peace summit in November where he announced that Israel and the Palestinians would aim to achieve a comprehensive peace deal by the end of this year. Mr. Bush has said repeatedly since the summit in Maryland that that goal could be achieved.
But disputes over contentious Israeli construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have been a drag on the talks.
Additionally, Olmert has said repeatedly that no accord would be implemented as long as Islamic militants committed to Israel's destruction remain in power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas violently wrested control of the territory in June from forces loyal to Abbas, whose now controls only the West Bank.
Despite his skepticism on the timing, Olmert said his government would make every effort to settle its long-standing differences with the Palestinians, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
"We are absolutely determined to make a giant step forward so that we will be able to conclude once and for all this historic conflict between the Palestinian people and the people of Israel," he said.
In related developments:
Katsav, who has insisted he was the victim of a witch hunt, left office in disgrace in June after four former female employees accused him of a series of sex crimes, including rape. Facing indictment, he agreed to a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid the gravest charges.
Under the deal, Katsav agreed to plead guilty to two counts of sexual harassment and resign just two weeks before his seven-year term was up.
Now that the plea bargain has been approved, Katsav will receive a suspended sentence with no jail time. The original charges could have carried a sentence of up to 20 years.
Berger reports women's groups said the plea bargain sends the wrong message to women who press charges on sexual harassment, and they petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn it.
The court, however, ruled that the deal was reasonable, reports Berger, who adds that the case tarnished the ceremonial office of the president, who was supposed to be the moral voice of Israel.
Women's rights and good-governance groups, bolstered by a public outcry, had petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the agreement shortly after it was announced eight months ago.
"This is a sad day," said Yifat Matzner, an attorney for a women's rights group that appealed the plea bargain.
Katzav's lawyers hailed the ruling.
"President Katzav was accused of the most serious crimes: two rapes here, another rape there, and was presented ... as a serial sexual offender," attorney Avigdor Feldman told reporters. He called the final charges "a tiny, shriveled-up indictment."
In announcing the plea bargain, Mazuz said one of his considerations was the reputation of the Israeli presidency and his desire to avoid a prolonged trial with painful headlines - a point whose legal validity critics questioned.
Opponents of the deal had hoped the Supreme Court would take the rare step of declaring the plea bargain unacceptable and either overturn it or send it back to Mazuz for revision.
Katsav's accusers charged that he repeatedly fondled them, kissed them, exposed himself to them and - in two cases - raped them while he served as president and earlier, as tourism minister.
Although Israel's presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the allegations roiled the country by portraying the man who was supposed to be Israel's moral compass as a predatory boss who forced himself on female employees.
Katsav suspended himself several months after the charges emerged in July 2006 in order to fight them, but refused to resign until the plea bargain forced him to do so. Israeli elder statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres replaced him as Israel's ceremonial leader in July.
In an interview shortly after he quit, Katsav said he agreed to sign the deal only to relieve the strain on his family.