Mofaz: 18-month window for peace talks

Israel's deputy premier told US President Barack Obama on Thursday that there was an 18-month window for talks with the PLO, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. Shaul Mofaz held impromptu talks with Obama in the White House on Thursday when the US president joined the Israeli official's meeting with national security advisor Tom Donilon, Ynet said. Mofaz told Obama there was an 18-month window of opportunity to resume peace talks, and said agreements on borders and security could be reached. Earlier this week, Mofaz told a Kadima party conference that there was "no greater danger to the future of the Jewish people than a bi-national state between the Jordan River and the sea," the report added. Addressing President Mahmoud Abbas, Mofaz called for a resumption of peace talks. There have been no direct negotiations since September 2010. The last round of direct talks collapsed within weeks when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a partial freeze on illegal settlement building in the occupied West Bank.