PM to Abbas: Willing to go far in peace talks

[Phx_Dem]

After apologizing for the IDF’s shelling of Beit Hanoun, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday formally addressed the incident that left 18 Palestinians dead and also called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with him without preconditions.

“Abbas is exposed to Hamas’ pressures, and I am willing to sit down with him with no predetermined conditions,” the prime minister said. “He would be surprised to see how far I’m willing to go in the talks.”

Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Conference for Export and International Cooperation in Tel Aviv, Olmert said regarding the Gaza shelling, “It is certainly not a part of Israel’s policy; it is a tragedy that we thoroughly regret.”

I have great respect for Abu Mazen (Abbas). When we will sit around the negotiation table he will be very intransigent," Olmert said in a televised interview aired to people attending the conference.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3326244,00.html

Let's hope Abbas takes him up on his offer.