With only nine days before the Israeli election for prime minister, an Israeli cabinet minister said today a peace deal with the Palestinians was possible within two weeks.
"In two weeks, we can reach a total settlement ... We have moved closer. At each meeting, we edge forward," Justice Minister Yossi Beilin told Israeli public radio the day after marathon peace talks wrapped up in Egypt.
The two sides issued a joint statement saying they were closer than ever to ending their decades old-conflict, but no agreement resulted from the negotiations.
Mr Beilin, who attended the six days of talks, hinted that the two sides are close to resolving the problem of borders for a future Palestinian state with an exchange of land from the Negev desert in southern Israel in return for land in the Palestinian territories.
The top-selling Yediot Aharonotnewspaper said that the Palestinians had agreed to recognise three Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank but that there was disagreement over the size of the territory to be controlled by Israel.
Reuters