Talks of Ben-Ami in Cairo focus on framework agreement

Israel's acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said he came to Egypt to brief President Hosni Mubarak on the latest developments on the Palestinian negotiating track and to discuss Egyptian-Israeli relations.

"We are now speaking of a framework agreement that would cover all raised core issues," he told the press after talks with the President and prior to his departure.

The comprehensive agreement, that is to treat all details, will come at a later phase, he said, adding that he was confident that this would be easier then.

Asked whether a transitional agreement had been reached and the contentious issues deferred to a later stage, Ben Ami said that this was not true because Israel is well aware that the main issue in this regard is to reach a comprehensive agreement on all issues.

"Israel hopes to reach a final settlement with the Palestinians," he added.

"Israel does not, rule out the possibility of deferring an issue or two if it could not reach agreement on all raised issues, but this is not on the agenda so far," he said.

"What is on the agenda right now is to exert genuine efforts "on our part and on the part of the Palestinian side" to exhaust all prospects for reaching agreement on all pending issues," he added.

Asked whether an anticipated summit between Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak meant that progress had been made on the negotiating track, Ben Ami said that what Israel wants is to reach an agreement.

He voiced belief that an agreement was much more important than holding a meeting. "Palestinians and Israelis, as neighbors, need to boost their confidence in each other and even if no agreement is reached, and to be able to control the situation, they also need some degree of mutual understanding," he added.

In response to a question on whether he had presented any new proposals to President Mubarak, Ben Ami said it was not Israel's duty to raise new proposals every day.

However, he added, he discussed with the president several ideas that are not necessarily new ones.

"The Palestinian-Israeli peace process that has been going on for too long, is in need of difficult decisions," he said.