News

PARIS (AP) — Israel’s defense minister said Tuesday that despite the upheaval in the Arab world from pro-democracy uprisings, Israel should push forward with negotiations.

Ehud Barak was in Paris Tuesday for talks with the French foreign and defense ministers. In an interview with The Associated Press he emphasized the importance of restarting the long-stalled peace talks, despite some misgivings by other members of his own government.

"We are looking at an area which is under a political turmoil, something we have not witnessed for maybe 90 years since the collapse of the Ottoman empire, he said. "I cannot say that their (others in the government) doubts don’t have a certain foundation but I still believe despite all uncertainty Israel should make a real attempt to enter negotiations."

Since the beginning of the year, the Arab world has been wracked by pro-democracy demonstrations, which brought down the governments in Tunisia and Israel’s neighbor Egypt.

There has been some worry in Israel that the new governments that emerge in the region might be more hostile to the Jewish state than their predecessors. Israeli skeptics note that elections in the Middle East have brought groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to power.

"It’s clear to us that (with) these events of the Arab spring that... >>>