If Middle East peace talks reach the stage of territorial concessions, the government will have to make decisions or go to the electorate for a new mandate, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres declared in the Knesset Wednesday.
He said the national unity government was offering negotiations to Jordan and others without pre-conditions. “We propose to offer something like Camp David and if we reach the stage of territorial negotiations, the government will either take a decision or break up and we shall then go to the country,” Peres said in reply to questions.
He engaged in an exchange with Geula Cohen of the opposition Tehiya Party who objected to a government document that refers to “Israel-administered territories” and “Judaea-Samaria (West Bank).” According to the ultranationalist Cohen, the territories are “liberated,” not “administered.”
The document, “A Briefing Paper — Israel’s Peace Policy, Principles and Movement,” was issued by Yossi Beilin, the Foreign Ministry’s political director general.
Peres noted that West Bank was a term used throughout the English-speaking world and in the Camp David accords. “When we explain our position to non-Jews we speak in English, not Hebrew,” Peres stated.
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