BICOM

New Israeli Labour Party and opposition leader, Isaac Herzog yesterday travelled to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.

Herzog last month defeated Shelly Yachimovich to win the Labour Party leadership, having sharply criticised her failure to take a firm stance on the peace process. Yesterday’s meeting underscored that under Herzog, Labour is expected to place a clearer focus on the peace process. Labour MKs Erel Margalit and Omer Bar-Lev travelled to Ramallah with Herzog, while Abbas was joined by senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and PA Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa.

In a press conference following the meeting, Herzog said “My impression was that we have a partner willing to go far to achieve peace, to take creative, brave steps on core issues.” However, Herzog also emphasised Israel’s security concerns, saying “I explained… the need to reach fundamental arrangements related to security in order to ensure the shared future of our children, and to courageously seek an agreement fulfilling the vision of two states on the basis of territorial swaps.”

Meanwhile, Abbas warned that if tenders rumoured to be in the pipeline for a reported 24,000 housing units in the West Bank are issued by Israel’s Housing Ministry, it will “endanger the whole peace process.” However, Abbas expressed optimism that peace can be achieved, saying “Now is the time. The situation in the region offers a fitting atmosphere, now more than ever before.”

Israel’s government has been engaged in peace talks with the PA since July, but negotiations have yet to make any significant progress. Last Thursday, Herzog participated in his first monthly briefing as leader of the opposition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and commented afterwards, “if he [Netanyahu] decides to make history [with a peace deal], the Labour Party will give him the necessary support.”