By Paul Schemm

PARIS: 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 under certain situation we might find ourselves having to defend ourselves alone,” Barak said.
The latest round of peace talks broke down in September, just three weeks after their launch, with the expiration of an Israeli moratorium on settlement building in the West Bank.

The Palestinians have threatened to bypass negotiations altogether and declare statehood directly to the U.N General Assembly, where they have a great deal of international support.
It would only be a symbolic move, however, as the body has little real power. Yet there are fears that Israel could become further isolated and face heavy pressure to make future concessions.

“I think it doesn’t serve the Palestinians themselves going through the U.N. General Assembly to produce a statement more than a decision – a statement that could create damage in more than one sense,” Barak said, calling for negotiating instead.
“I believe that many senior Palestinian officials see that the right way is not to go to the U.N. but to enter the negotiating room,” he added.

President Barack Obama has called for negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to be carried out on the basis of the 1967 Israeli borders with mutually agreed-upon land swaps to reflect the situation on the ground.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a return to the 1967 lines, which would mean a full withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But Barak hinted readiness to adopt a formula similar to the one outlined by Obama. “There should be mutually agreed changes in the border to reflect … the realities that have been created on the ground,” he said.

Netanyahu writes letter to Erdogan: official

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to repair Israel’s relations with Turkey, an Israeli official said Tuesday, a year after a deadly Israeli raid on the high seas caused a crisis in ties.
An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, said the Israeli leader had sent the letter to the Turkish prime minister to congratulate Erdogan on winning a third term after a June 12 election.

Beyond that primary reason for the letter, the official said it also “signaled an interest” from Netanyahu to repair once-close ties that have frayed in recent years.
Turkey has long been Israel’s closest friend in the Middle East, but the relationship has deteriorated, reaching a new low last year when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-backed flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists.

“Israel regrets the deterioration in its relationship with Turkey. We think a good bilateral relationship is in the interests of both sides. And we hope that it’s possible to have a more positive dynamic in the relationship,” the official said.

In recent years Israel faults Turkey for strengthening ties with its enemies Syria and Iran, while Turkey accuses Israel of fomenting instability with its policies toward the Palestinians.
A senior European diplomat said this week that the turmoil in the Middle East could actually prove positive for Israel-Turkish ties. “One good thing that could come out of the Arab Spring for Israel is an improvement in its relations with Turkey,” the diplomat said, adding that turmoil in Syria had upset Turkey’s regional policies.