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JERUSALEM – Israeli President Shimon Peres urged a resumption of Middle East peace talks Thursday, dismissing the Palestinians' plan to instead ask the United Nations for recognition as "an illusion" and arguing that a peace deal — despite widespread skepticism on both sides — was possible within months.
"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 Hezbollah 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.
The Israeli president dismissed skepticism 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 laboring 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 recognize 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.
"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 Hezbollah 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.
The Israeli president dismissed skepticism 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 laboring 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 recognize 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.