Ramon gives PA until end of year to negotiate

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israel will give the Palestinians until the end of the year to prove they are willing to negotiate a final peace deal, and will unilaterally set its final borders with them by 2008 if they don't, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Tuesday. "Through the end of this year, 2006, there will be honest attempts to talk to the other side," Ramon told Army Radio. "If it becomes clear by the end of the year that we really have no partner, and the international community is also convinced of this, then we will take our fate into our own hands and not leave our fate in the hands of our enemies," he added. Asked how long the withdrawal would take, Ramon judged that it would be possible to complete the process in 18 to 24 months.