国际英语新闻：Blair urges Israel, Palestinians to resume talks

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Former British prime minister and representative to the Middle East Quartet Tony Blair on Tuesday urged the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to resume peace talks as soon as possible in order to ensure the survival of the two-state solution.

"The only solution that works is a solution that delivers security to Israel and dignity to the Palestinian people: a state for the Jewish people and a state for the Palestinian people," Blair told an annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most influential bi-partisan pro- Israel lobby group in the United States.

"The Palestinian state has to be viable, independent and democratic. This is the two-state solution. It is not a slogan. It is the only path to lasting peace. And it can be done," he said, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas should put all the disputes on the table and hold face-to-face, direct talks as soon as possible.

"Peace now will not come simply through an agreement negotiated; it must come through a reality created and sustained," Blair said.

The peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were stalled in December 2008 when Israel launched a massive military campaign against the Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas insists that the talks shall not resume until the Israeli government totally freezes the Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, while the Israeli side vows to ensure the "natural growth" of the Jewish settlements.

Under pressure from Washington, both sides agreed to kick off indirect talks earlier this month. But after the Netanyahu-led government's announcement to build more houses for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem, the PNA decided to suspend the talks with Israel.