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November 26, 2008

Israeli PM: Agreement Possible With Palestinians
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=20A211F:A6F02AD83191E160B0545DCEC34B3ED9E55ED32ED25AB8F6&
 
Ehud Olmert says two sides do not need months to make a decision on a
peace agreement 
Israel's prime minister says he believes he can reach agreement with the
Palestinians on core peace issues soon, despite his limited time in
office. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert said in
Washington Tuesday that the two sides do not need months to make a
decision on a peace agreement. He was speaking a day after meeting with
U.S. President George Bush, who helped to relaunch Middle East peace
talks last year. Time is running out for both leaders, who said they
wanted to conclude a Middle East peace deal by the end of this year. Mr.
Bush leaves office on January 20, and Israel will elect Mr. Olmert's
successor three weeks later. Israel again shut its borders with the Gaza
Strip on Tuesday in response to rocket attacks from the Hamas-run
territory. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Malki said
he is very worried about the situation following Israel's frequent
closures of the aid-dependent territory. Prime Minister Olmert denied
that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In other news, the human
rights organization Yesh Din says the Israeli military filed charges
against just six percent of Israeli soldiers accused of criminal
offenses against Palestinians from late 2000 until 2007.In a report
released Tuesday, the groups says more than 1,200 investigations were
opened against military personnel, and only 78 of them resulted in
charges being filed. Of those soldiers indicted, many were given
sentences far from the maximum sentences permitted by law. Yesh Din says
its report is based on information provided by the Israeli Defense
Force. Some information for this report was provided by AP.


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