Israeli defense minister predicts treaties

JERUSALEM, May 16 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is ready to agree to a Palestinian state, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Saturday.

Barak is head of the Labor Party, which decided to enter a coalition with the right-wing Likud Party after the last election. He gave an interview to Channel 2 as Netanyahu prepared for a trip to Washington for discussions with U.S. President Barack Obama.

"I believe Netanyahu is ready for a process whose end is two states for two peoples," Barak said.

Barak also predicted that Israel and neighboring countries, including Syria, would negotiate treaties within three years and that the treaties would then take another five years to fully implement.

One touchy issue between Israel and the United States is Iran. While the Obama administration has been trying to open a dialogue with the country, Netanyahu has reportedly agreed not to attack Iran unilaterally without notifying the United States.

Israel is "not taking any option off the table, and we suggest everyone else do the same," Barak said.