Or is this one more illusion of progress?

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have pledged to forge a peace between their countries, calling the vision of two states, side by side, the only path.

With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas watching, Livni told the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum that a Palestinian state is "not an illusion. It's there, it's achievable".

Livni urged the international community to support moderates in the Middle East.

She told Abbas that "compromising with extremists will not promote anything" - a clear reference to Hamas and other militant groups.

Abbas listened intently, nodding his head, and afterwards greeted her warmly with a long handshake.

He reiterated that if he cannot form a unity government with Hamas officials, he will move to call early elections, but gave no specific timetable.

Abbas was addressing a large crowd of political leaders, corporate bosses and others at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

He said that such an agreement would help strengthen the hands of moderates in the region and fight extremism of all types.

But will Hamas, Hezbollah, and the other extremists in the region allow such a deal to happen. After all, the entire origin of the conflict was the refusal of Arabs to live with a two-state solution that Israel embraced from its inception. Can the Palestinians quit murdering Jews long enough to achieve what could have been theirs six decades ago?

Posted by: Greg at 11:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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