Erekat: Palestinians ready to negotiate final deal

In response to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's address on Monday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians were ready to negotiate a final peace deal. "I believe Mr. Olmert knows he has a partner, and that is President Abbas. He knows that to achieve peace and security for all, we need to shoot for the end game," Erekat said. As a first step, Erekat said, the two sides need to sustain the fragile cease-fire along the Israel-Gaza border and also extend it to the West Bank. "That will open the key to a political horizon," he said.