Berlusconi offers to host Mideast peace talks in Sicily

            Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offered to take personal steps to try to restart stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, telling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Rome on Monday that he would be willing to host negotiations in Sicily. In a press conference of the two leaders following a meeting that both sides said went well, Berlusconi reiterated his opposition to the United Nations recognizing a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. Berlusconi told Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas two weeks ago that it was a bad idea. "We don't think a unilateral resolution can help advance peace, not by Palestinians or by Israelis," Berlusconi said. "The way to advance peace is via negotiations. I would be happy to host peace talks here in the city Erice [on the coast of the island of Sicily]." Berlusconi said he supported initiating a Marshall Plan to build a Palestinian state economically. Ten Italian companies have agreed to open factories in the West Bank, and 10 tourism companies agreed to come to the West Bank to encourage Italian tourism. Netanyahu said Berlusconi's idea could be a model for spurring democracy throughout the Muslim world. Asked why the Palestinians recently upgraded the Palestinian representative to Italy to the level of ambassador if he opposed unilateral steps, Berlusconi said he did not see a contradiction. "The goal of this decision was to persuade the Palestinians that they have what to gain from coming to the negotiating table," Berlusconi said. Following a joint cabinet meeting, eight Israeli ministers signed agreements with their Italian counterparts. Such a meeting was also held in February 2010 in Jerusalem, and another is planned for next year in Jerusalem. The Israelis and Italians agreed on a very pro-Israel joint statement that Netanyahu's office was especially proud of. "In the wake of fundamental changes in the Middle East, the governments if Italy and Israel share the conviction that a just and lasting solution to the Israel - Palestinian conflict must be reached as a result of direct negotiations between the parties based on the principle of two states for two peoples, with the state of Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland of the Jewish people and an independent, democratic, contiguous, and viable state of Palestinian as the homeland of the Palestinian people, living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition," the proposal said. Netanyahu is due to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. Ha'aretz reported that Westerwelle intended to warn Netanyahu that if the diplomatic impasse continues, Germany would sponsor a UN Security Council resolution, together with Britain and France, that calls on the council to endorse US President Barack Obama's recent State Department speech as the basis for talks. Senior diplomatic officials said they did not think a decision would be brought to the Security Council, because the Obama administration has said clearly that peace would not be achieved via dictates. They said that such statements rule out bringing even the most cleverly worded resolution to the Security Council. Another official suggested that despite the UN General Assembly's lack of operative power, a GA resolution with teeth could be worse than a Security Council resolution without. The officials were critical of Obama's idea of delaying talks on the issue of refugees until permanent borders are set. While Obama said the reason for the delay was because the refugee issue was "emotional," the officials said all issues must be dealt with simultaneously because for Israel the refugee issue is not one of emotion but of existence. (18,00)