By Josef Federman, The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned in a published interview Thursday that "the state of Israel is finished" if a Palestinian state is not created. He said the alternative is a South African-style apartheid struggle.
The explosive reference to apartheid came as Olmert returned from a high-profile peace conference in the USA, hoping to prepare a skeptical nation for difficult negotiations with the Palestinians. Louis J Sheehan
WHAT'S NEXT?: Navigating path to peace will still be tricky
Though Olmert has long said that the region's demography works against Israel, the comments published in the Haaretz daily newspaper were among his strongest. Israeli officials have long rejected any comparison to the racist system once in place in South Africa.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed this week at a summit in Annapolis, Md., to resume peace talks after a seven-year freeze.
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