Al-Quds city, July 24, SPA -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai believes progress in the Middle East peace process and Palestinianstatehood could augur possible diplomatic relations betweenIsrael and Afghanistan, an Israeli newspaper on Sundayquoted him as saying. "At this stage we do not have relations of any kind withIsrael. But let us wait and see what happens in thefuture. The more the peace process moves forward, the more anew era of possibilities will be created in the area,especially as our Palestinian brothers see a brighterfuture, as a state and a nation, Afghanistan can weighrelations with Israel," Karzai reportedly told a reporterfrom the Maariv daily following a lecture in Rome. Karzai was in the Italian capital as part of a Europeantrip focused on Afghanistan's economic development andother issues, The Associated Press reported. Israel has diplomatic relations with 163 states, anincrease of 71 since the convening of the Madrid PeaceConference in 1991, but no official diplomatic ties withAfghanistan. Maariv quoted Karzai as saying his country wasinterested in a Middle East peace that would include "therights of all the sides, peace that takes into account therights of the Palestinians, and peace that will include therights of the Israelis." "I personally hope for peace in this part of the world,"Karzai was quoted as saying. "I hope for peace that willkeep both peoples happy. Loss of life, whether you aretalking about Israelis, Palestinians, Jews or Muslims isterrible. Everyone is a human being," he said. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev saidIsrael hoped it could have "normal and correct diplomaticrelations with all countries in the Asian continent" andsaw "no reason why such relations couldn't develop." "We have good relations with many Asian countries and wehope it will not be long before the remainder alsoestablish diplomatic relations with Israel," Regev said.--SPA1256 Local Time 0956 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/278792