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Last update - 00:00 10/06/2009
U.S. envoy assures Israel policy rift won't break alliance
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, Barack Obama 

U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell assured Israel on Tuesday that Washington would remain its close ally despite differences over West Bank settlements and peacemaking with the Palestinians.

Mitchell said the U.S. commitment to Israeli security is unshakable, adding, "We come here to talk not as adversaries and in disagreement, but as friends in discussion."

The envoy made the comments with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side before a meeting with the premier Tuesday evening.
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U.S. President Barack Obama, who dispatched Mitchell to the region, and Netanyahu are at odds over settlement expansion in the West Bank and the Israeli leader's reluctance to endorse Palestinian statehood.

Earlier Tuesday, Mitchell told President Shimon Peres his goal was to create conditions for "prompt resumption and early conclusion" of talks leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state "side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel".

"Let me be clear. These are not disagreements among adversaries. The United States and Israel are and will remain close allies and friends," Mitchell said. He later voiced the same sentim

Peres told Mitchell during their early afternoon talks that he believed that regional leaders had reached an historic moment in time, adding that neither sides would forgive themselves if they missed this chance for peace.

"I know that we must move along a corridor strewn with problems but there is also a great opportunity for peace," he said. "The sides must forgo the secondary problems and begin intensive negotiations for peace, in the framework of which I believe it will be possible to resolve most problems."

The president also called on the U.S. to continue negotiating over West Bank settlement construction, rather than focusing on it as a single contentious issue.

"There is agreement in Israel regarding the evacuation of illegal outposts and not to build new settlements," he said. "However, the issue of natural growth in the settlement blocs must continue to be discussed intensively in order to reach agreement."

"In my experience, focusing on a single issue ill serves the wider diplomatic process which is supposed to set the agenda for Israel and its neighbors," he added.

Later Tuesday, Mitchell met with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and the two discussed a range of issues, including the Iranian threat, the results of the election in Lebanon and the efforts to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The two also discussed the need for all the sides to fulfill their obligations - Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world.

Mitchell also met on Tuesday morning with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who helps oversee settlement policy, and was slated to hold talks with Netanyahu later in the day.

"We all share an obligation to create the conditions for the prompt resumption and early conclusion of negotiations," Mitchell added during the meeting with Peres.

Mitchell, Barak discuss settlement construction

In Mitchell's meeting with Barak in Tel Aviv, the two discussed the question of settlement construction, Barak's office said in a statement.

The two also spoke about ways to advance the Palestinian economy and develop its infrastructure and legal system.

Mitchell was scheduled to meet later Tuesday with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and then to travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu and Obama spoke by telephone Monday night, in a conversation which the PM's Bureau described as positive.

Netanyahu updated Obama on his plan to make an important political speech at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday, where he will outline his program for peace and security.

Obama reportedly said that he is eager to hear the speech and the two leaders agreed to continue their telephone exchanges.

Mitchell reportedly told former MK Yossi Beilin that the U.S. would like to commence negotiations on the core issues of the final status agreement as soon as possible.

The envoy is also expected to raise the possibility of resuming negotiations on the Syrian track. With this in mind, Fred Hoff, Mitchell's chief of staff and a Syria expert, is expected to arrive in Israel, too. Mitchell will continue on to Damascus and Beirut later this week.

Another matter expected to top the agenda during the meetings is the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and Barak will brief Mitchell about Wednesday's scheduled special cabinet meeting on the subject, expected to result in a decision to lift restrictions on importing foodstuffs and other goods into the Strip. The cabinet is also expected to lift the ban on exports.

Meanwhile, Abbas met with Beilin at the Muqata'a government compound in Ramallah Monday, where the Palestinian leader expressed his satisfaction with the results of his White House meeting with President Obama, two weeks ago. "Washington has changed its attitude toward the Palestinians completely," Abbas told Beilin.

During their conversation, Abbas said the PA intends to meet the U.S. demand to cease incitement against Israel by official Palestinian organs. "There are things that we need to correct in our official media and elsewhere," Abbas said. "I am in favor of dealing with these issues. But at the same time, Israel needs to address similar matters, too."

Abbas talked extensively about the PA's activities against Hamas in the West Bank and noted the recent clashes in Qalqilyah, during which two militants and three PA police officers were killed. "We are doing a great deal to preserve security," Abbas said.

Abbas also emphasized his wish to resume negotiations on a final status agreement as soon as possible.

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      1.   I just called, to say... 04:47  |  Shimon Cleopas 09/06/09
      2.   Oh generous Israel 05:42  |  TC 09/06/09
      3.   TC #1 06:16  |  George Kaplan 09/06/09
      4.   "core issues of the final status agreement" 07:27  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/06/09
      5.   George Kaplan advocates starving them... 07:52  |  BBSNews 09/06/09
      6.   If Obama and Clinton deny the Bush letter 08:38  |  Zev 09/06/09
      7.   PLO is the Negotiations Agent 10:37  |  Mark of Lewiston 09/06/09
      8.   #6 The zionist stimulus/response, there for all to see 11:22  |  Johnboy 09/06/09
      9.   #7, Mark of Lewiston 11:25  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/06/09
      10.   BBS George does? Where? How come you are such a cheap liar? 11:44  |  PETER SM 09/06/09
      11.   TC The fact is they are NOT starving to death,despite Hamas 11:46  |  PETER SM 09/06/09
      12.   johnboy 8 15:25  |  potobac 09/06/09
      13.   c j k 7 15:28  |  potobac 09/06/09
      14.   johnnyboy,,,OR Israel can do like the palestinians have done over 22:03  |  bullistic`s friend 09/06/09
      15.   we can`t save people from themselves 22:24  |  T A Sheppard 09/06/09
      16.   POTOBAC BUT a letter written by President Bush is! 22:27  |  PETER SM 09/06/09
      17.   Starving them as GK suggests 00:46  |  Kimo AL Quds 10/06/09
      18.   psm--so you will be happy to accept the saudi plan 00:58  |  Labhras 10/06/09
      19.   psm he is not a liar--do you believe in the 5 loaves 01:02  |  Labhras 10/06/09
      20.   say Bullistics friend--u forgot to copy PSM on that post 01:07  |  Labhras 10/06/09
      21.   #14 When did the PLO say that, bullistic`s friend? 01:32  |  Johnboy 10/06/09
      22.   #16 That letter is full of holes, PETER SM. 01:39  |  Johnboy 10/06/09
      23.   Shimon Cleopas 01:47  |  Jasper 10/06/09
      24.   For # 16 Peter SM 01:52  |  chet 10/06/09
      25.   peter sm 16 02:14  |  potobac 10/06/09
      26.   Peter SM - I realize that 02:56  |  Mark Lincoln 10/06/09
      27.   Israel should annex the territories 03:23  |  T. Traub 10/06/09
      28.   #16 PETER SM grasps a two-edged sword 03:48  |  Johnboy 10/06/09
      29.   Obama`s Cairo Speech 15:27  |  Armando Rozário 10/06/09
      30.   JOHNBOY@22 wHENWAS THE LAST TIME? DURING THE ARAFAT PERIOD. 19:54  |  Whiskey/Bravo 10/06/09
      31.   #30 Pardon me, Whiskey/Bravo 01:58  |  Johnboy 11/06/09
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