国际英语新闻：Israeli minister warns against further delay in Mideast peace talks

JERUSALEM, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer on Sunday cautioned against further delays in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, noting that "time is running out."

"I must say that for the first time, Israel is determined to face the peace process and move it forward. Prime Minister Netanyahu even invited (Egyptian) President (Hosni) Mubarak to lead the talks," Ben-Eliezer said in a meeting with the foreign press organized by the Israel Project group.

"Netanyahu has put everything on the table -- borders, security, settlements, Jerusalem," said Ben-Eliezer, who accompanied the Israeli premier on his trip to meet Mubarak in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh a few weeks ago.

He called on both sides to make hard decisions and urged the Palestinian side to launch direct negotiations with Israel. "I hope that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) leader Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) will understand that the sooner he sits with Israel, the better," Ben-Eliezer said.

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is slated to arrive in the region later in the week, in continuing efforts to facilitate the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

"I hope Mitchell will come and decide how things will begin and that he will stay as long as possible in this area," said Ben- Eliezer of the Labor Party, an important coalition partner of Netanyahu's government.

Besides dealing with the immense pressures by the U.S. administration over the peace talks with the Palestinians and freeze construction activity in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu is also subjected to scrutiny by his primary coalition partners in the Labor Party.

Sima Kadmon, a leading political analyst for the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, reported recently that Ben-Eliezer has asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak, head of the Labor Party, to pressure Netanyahu to proceed quicker in the Palestinian channel.