TOKYO, Feb 26: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Tuesday to push for a comprehensive peace settlement with the Palestinians but cast doubt on meeting a US-backed goal of sealing it this year.

“We have a desire to reach an agreement within the year 2008. But I am not sure we will make it,” he said.

Olmert is on a four-day visit to Tokyo in which he also warned of dangers from Iran and North Korea, which are arch-rivals for Israel and Japan respectively.

Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas late last year restarted negotiations with a summit in Annapolis near Washington, ending a long break following a Palestinian uprising in September 2000.

The summit set a goal of concluding a comprehensive agreement by the end of 2008, coinciding with the end of George W. Bush’s presidency.

But despite his reservations, Olmert said on Tuesday there was “no better opportunity” than now to reach a settlement on the Middle East conflict.

“We are determined to make a giant step forward to end this dispute once and for all,” he said. “We want to make every possible effort to seize this opportunity.

“We are making an exceptional effort to resolve the outstanding disputes with our Palestinian neighbours. We are hoping to conclude an understanding that will lead to a two-states solution, the Palestinian state and the state of Israel,” he said.Bush made his first trip as president to the West Bank and Israel last month and vowed in his final State of the Union address to do “everything we can” to reach a deal defining a Palestinian state by the end of the year.—AFP