Israel would accept a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians that will entail a two-state solution, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said Sunday.
"The government of Israel, because of our democratic tradition and because of the continuity principle, is going to abide by all previous commitments the former government took, including the acceptance of the road map to peace which will lead to a two-state solution," Ayalon was quoted by the website of Ha'aretz daily as saying, referring to the internationally backed 2002 peace plan.
Ayalon, a member of Israel Beiteinu party headed by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, made the remarks ahead of a series of diplomatic activities involved Israeli top leaders in the United States and European countries.
On Monday, Lieberman will start a four-day trip to Italy, France, the Czech Republic and Germany, to allay concern about the new Israeli government's policy on peace with the Palestinians.
In March, European Union foreign ministers said that the bloc's ties with Israel might suffer if Israeli government ditches the two-state principle for ending the conflict.
Israeli President Shimon Peres is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on May 5. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington later this month.
The prime minister, so far having not?publicly endorsed the Palestinian statehood, said he would focus on improving the Palestinian economy in the West Bank.
However, the Palestinians are demanding that Netanyahu back a two-state solution, a principle strongly backed by the White House.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he will tell Obama later this month that resuming peace talks with Israel will be conditioned on its approval of a two-state solution.
(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2009)
