"In a strange way the differences are rather psychological than material,"
the 87-year-old head of state and Nobel laureate said in an interview with
The Associated Press.
"I don't exclude that in spite of the shortage of time we can conclude an
agreement with the Palestinians"
before September, Peres said, referring to the month the Palestinians, in
the absence of a peace deal, plan to ask the United Nations for recognition
as a state.
Peres warned the U.N. gambit could backfire. The U.S. is expected to veto the
measure in the powerful Security Council, forcing the Palestinians to turn
to the General Assembly, where a majority seems likely but any decision
would have no legal force.
"It will remain (on) paper and it will raise false hopes," Peres
said. Israel
would simply ask: "Can you stop terror, United Nations? Can you stop
the politics of Iran that finances Hizbollah and finances Hamas? Can you
stop the smuggling of arms? ... And if the United Nations cannot answer it,
so what is the value of their resolution?"
With his comments, Peres joined a chorus of world leaders, including President
Barack Obama and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, urging the
Palestinians not to follow through with the U.N. resolution. Palestinian
officials have acknowledged they are having second thoughts, but insist they
will press forward if peace talks don't resume.
Peres dismissed scepticism about the gaps between any Palestinian leadership
and the current right-leaning Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu:
"I know a little bit about negotiations," said Peres, who won the
Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords with
the Palestinians. "The opening position is extremely loud and very
maximalist ... But then you have to go down, quietly."
Would the Palestinians give up the so-called right of return by refugees and
their millions of descendants - a persistent and principled demand that
Israelis across the spectrum reject out of hand as demographic suicide?
"I think so," he said, insisting a "creative" solution is
possible.
Among the obstacles to talks even beginning is Israel's rejection of an
emerging Palestinian "unity government" between Fatah, the
moderate grouping of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which controls
Palestinian autonomy zones in the West Bank, and the Hamas militant group,
which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
The sides reached a reconciliation agreement last month and are still
labouring to implement it, wrangling over issues like the appointment of a
prime minister. But Netanyahu has already made the deal an obstacle to
talks, saying he cannot negotiate with a government even partly backed by a
sworn enemy like Hamas.
Peres noted the United States and other world powers have insisted that Hamas
recognise Israel, renounce terrorism and accept previous agreements. Hamas'
acceptance of these terms, Peres suggested, would enable such talks between
Israel and a unified Palestinian leadership.
As president, Peres is a figurehead, but his words carry weight because of an
elder statesman status achieved over six frequently turbulent decades in
Israeli public life - a period marked by achievement and electoral futility
in seemingly equal measure.
As leader of Israel's centre-left Labor Party, Peres lost an improbable string
of elections - in 1977, 1981, 1988, and 1996 - and managed only a tie in
1984, with Israel's economy mired in hyperinflation and its army in a costly
and unpopular war in Lebanon.
Despite his electoral futility, he has managed to serve in practically every
top government position, including three brief stints as prime minister.
Peres' dogged pursuit of peace earned a share of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize
and made him a regular at global gatherings such as the annual World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where his penchant for visionary
pronouncements and extraordinary longevity have given him a somewhat iconic
status.
Alert, jocular and surrounded by adoring aides, Peres spoke to the AP at his
presidential compound as he prepared to host his own version of Davos - the
third annual "Israeli Presidential Conference" - an event which he
said would this year attract 1,700 figures from outside Israel.
The diverse guest list ranges from Colombian singer Shakira and U.S.
comedienne Sarah Silverman to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, advertising
magnate Martin Sorrel and European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet,
in addition to a cluster of leaders and government ministers.
Peres said the three-day event next week will focus on "the issues of
tomorrow - in Jewish life, in world affairs, in Israeli development, in all
domains - science, technology, politics."
He said he had special interest in exploring the workings of the brain,
cybernetics, and what he perceived as an unprecedented type of generation
gap.
"Youngsters are equipped with ... Facebook and the internet. They don't
want their parents to get involved in their own way of life. They respect
the parents but without much admiration. They say: ... 'The world you have
handed over is full of blood and suffering and mistakes. Let us have our own
future."'
Peres credited Facebook-wielding youth for the current upheavals in the Arab
world and offered his neighbours free advice: "If you don't give equal
rights to (women) you're half a nation ... No money can compensate (for)
this mistake."
Peres clearly feels the changes in the region belatedly vindicate the optimism
he espoused 18 years ago in a book titled "The New Middle East" -
which earned him some derision at the time by critics who felt he was naive.
He dismissed the concerns of many Israelis today that Arab democracies would
elect Islamists and authoritarians: "The moral call is the right one
and the preferred one. Don't make too many calculations. I shall be a happy
person when the Middle East will become free and democratic."
Peres predicted that the unusual Israeli presidential conference - despite its
association with him personally - would continue after he leaves office
because Israel had a global role in advancing knowledge.
"A good Jew cannot be satisfied," Peres said. "All the time he
feels he has to improve ... which creates, in a way, creativity and
imagination."
