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Last update - 02:37 22/09/2009
Obama seeking 'upgrade' for Netanyahu-Abbas summit
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent Agencies
Tags: israel news, abbas, netanyahu 

The White House is making a last-minute diplomatic effort to come up with some significant statement signaling the revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to conclude the tripartite summit in New York Tuesday. However, the White House Monday said the administration has no "grand expectations" for President Barack Obama's meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday that Obama was looking to "continue to build on progress" in regional talks. "We have no grand expectations out of one meeting," said Gibbs.

Obama is to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday morning.
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The meeting will be held at the Waldorf Astoria, after separate meetings between Obama and each of the leaders.

Netanyahu, who landed in New York last night, said recently that even if the peace talks are not resumed at the end of the summit meeting, they would start again after the holidays, in mid-October.

The Palestinians say the meeting will not constitute negotiations, since Abbas has refused to hold peace talks with Netanyahu until Israel freezes settlement construction.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who left for Washington on Sunday, met U.S. National Security Adviser General James Jones and the presidential adviser Dennis Ross. They discussed various formulas that would make the summit more than a mere "photo-op."

Barak met Netanyahu before dawn Monday.

One idea to "upgrade" the summit was that Obama would announce at the end of the meeting that Israel has agreed to suspend construction in the settlements temporarily. This would be seen as an achievement and would jump-start the talks, a Jerusalem source said.

Another idea was to have Obama announce the United States was interested in resuming the talks in mid-October, after further talks with the two parties.

Obama could also announce that the sides are close to resuming the peace talks and call for an international peace conference in the next few months, at which the negotiations would be launched, the source said.

Barak told Jones and Ross Monday that "Israel is interested in the peace process led by Obama, based on an agreement with the Palestinians."

Barak said any settlement would have to preserve Israel's security interests and include an agreement to end the conflict and end the mutual demands.

After the summit Netanyahu is scheduled to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president is expected to propose to Netanyahu that he attend the Union for the Mediterranean conference due to be held in Paris in November. Sarkozy will tell Netanyahu that he would like the conference to be a platform for Arab states to begin normalizing their relations with Israel.

The two are also expected to discuss ways of dealing with Iran's nuclear program.

On Thursday at 1 P.M. New York time Netanyahu will address the UN's General Assembly, in English, and focus on the Iranian threat.

Netanyahu, who arrived with his wife Sara and all his aides and advisers in the Prime Minister's Bureau, worked on his speech until 3 A.M. Monday. He will call on the international community to act resolutely to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who will join Netanyahu in New York, will hold several meetings with his counterparts, the most important of which is scheduled with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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      1.   Primitive tricks by the White House work with Israeli suckers 02:51  |  Absolute Sweden 22/09/09
      2.   Israel in the Spotlight 04:31  |  Cynic 22/09/09
      3.   Fox on the loose 04:48  |  LDee 22/09/09
      4.   Upgrade? 04:52  |  Yosemite 22/09/09
      5.   peace or conflict forever? 05:05  |  peacemonger 22/09/09
      6.   Hail Obama! 06:03  |  US CITIZEN 22/09/09
      7.   Religious Servers need the Reset Button 06:57  |  Shimon Cleopas 22/09/09
      8.   No resolution so long as there is more Pal land to steal... 07:12  |  gg 22/09/09
      9.   uh, excuse me, "peacemonger"? 07:13  |  yona 22/09/09
      10.   Try as you may 08:41  |  Viewer 22/09/09
      11.   from non communication to talking is major progress 08:47  |  the matchmaker 22/09/09
      12.   has Lieberman up-graded his manners and his social skills? 08:48  |  Esther 22/09/09
      13.   The Obama Peace circus 09:28  |  DT 22/09/09
      14.   yona, peacemonger on biblical injunctions 10:24  |  christoph 22/09/09
      15.   Upgrading and downgrading the "soup de jour" in the ME....??? 10:33  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/09/09
      16.   gg, there is no such a thing as Pal Land 10:34  |  Raus mit den Araber 22/09/09
      17.   Ehud Barak: must preserve Israel`s security 10:38  |  Steve the Pals. 22/09/09
      18.   president clinton was knowledegable on the region 11:30  |  amnon reshef 22/09/09
      19.   Nu, here we have it, one hesitant ambiguous half-step forward 11:31  |  Esther 22/09/09
      20.   Pres. Obama: Learn from your own history! 12:27  |  Yonatan 22/09/09
      21.   # 20 Yonatan, hope and pray that your (grand)children..... 13:27  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/09/09
      22.   #21 Swiss Dino, you misunderstand my7 intention 14:02  |  Yonatan 22/09/09
      23.   STEVE the Pals Your brothers have made Israel security conscious 14:06  |  PETER SM 22/09/09
      24.   Obama is hip deep in embarrassment. 14:24  |  petra 22/09/09
      25.   # 22 Yonatan, I understand the point you make..... 14:27  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/09/09
      26.   all showmanship 22:06  |  yair 22/09/09
      27.   It doesn`t matter what Obama wants 16:23  |  Petra 23/09/09
      28.   Petra is Wrong 22:03  |  Stephen 24/09/09
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