Barak: We must exhaust all means to assist peace talks

By JPOST.COM STAFF
"It is clear to us all that we must exhaust all possible means of assisting the negotiations with the Palestinians," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday. "We must ease restrictions on the Palestinians whenever it does not conflict with [Israel's] defense, even at the price of a calculated risk." The defense minister, who was speaking during a tour of an IDF induction base, also said that "There are a number of economic projects that we are working on, which are intended to generate momentum and provide jobs for Palestinians." Barak, however, emphasized that "we must remember that our top responsibility is to provide security to the citizens of Israel."