Israel can't let crisis harm peace process - EU
German FM says although Israeli government is under pressure in wake of Winograd report, crisis should not be allowed to stymie efforts to revive peace process
The Israeli government crisis should not be allowed to undermine efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, European Union president Germany said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trying to fend off a public call to resign from his foreign minister amid a crisis over his handling of last year's Lebanon war.
The crisis erupted on Monday when an official report savaged Olmert's conduct of the war with Hizbullah guerrillas.
"A situation like this, in which the Israeli government ... is under pressure, should not be allowed to lead to the abandoning of our joint efforts to strengthen the peace process," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters after meeting his counterpart from New Zealand.
Steinmeier said the efforts of the Middle East Quartet of peace negotiators needed to be complemented by efforts in the region, above all by closer contact between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
"I hope that despite the present difficulties in Israel after the submission of the report, the efforts will continue," he said. "I especially hope the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President (Mahmoud) Abbas will continue ... and that the timetable is adhered to."
Arab leaders have revived a five-year-old peace plan that offers Israel normal ties with Arab countries in return for full withdrawal from land seized in a 1967 Middle East war, creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinians displaced in 1948 with Israel's creation.
Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has praised the Arab initiative and says Europe should build on it and revive diplomatic efforts by the Quartet, comprised of the EU, the United States, the United Nations and Russia.
Officials from the Quartet and four Arab nations will meet in Egypt on Friday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after a meeting of Iraq's neighbours, ministers from the Group of Eight nations and the EU to discuss how to stabilise Iraq.
The Arab initiative has received a lukewarm response from Israel so far.
Steinmeier will be attending the Iraq conference and is then embarking on a tour of the Middle East.
