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PM Ehud Olmert, U.S. President George Bush, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the Annapolis summit last month. (Reuters)
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U.S. plans confidential appraisal of Israeli and PA peace moves
By Barak Ravi, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters
Tags: Road Map, U.S., Israel 

The United States will conduct confidential assessments of whether Israel and the Palestinians are meeting their peacemaking commitments and share the results privately with the parties, U.S. and Western officials said.

Israel has sought to keep the U.S. process of judging compliance with the long-stalled "road map" peace plan largely secret. Palestinians say they favour disclosure of judgments on whether Israel is halting all settlement activity and whether the Palestinians are curbing militants as the plan demands.

Though the Bush administration has decided to keep the assessment process confidential, it reserves the right to go public with its views if necessary, the officials said.
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U.S. judgments will be crucial because Israel has said it will not implement any peace deal until the Palestinians meet their commitments to combat militants in both the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where militants continue to fire rockets across the border into Israel.

The monitoring process may be a test of Washington's readiness to hold a key ally to its commitments. Despite U.S. and Palestinian pressure on Israel to freeze settlements, the Housing Ministry said on Sunday 740 new homes would be built in East Jerusalem next year.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland last month to relaunch final-status peace talks with the goal of reaching a statehood agreement by the end of 2008.

They also agreed Washington - rather than the broader Quartet of Middle East mediators - would "monitor and judge" Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the 2003 road map.

Though Israel supports U.S. oversight, it has sent mixed messages about whether it would treat the findings as binding.

"We will conduct this process in confidence," a senior U.S. official said
of the judging program, adding that "our purpose will be to encourage progress, not to chastise" the parties.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington will share the assessment results "with the parties, probably bilaterally, but perhaps in other formats as well".

"We reserve the option to be public if need arises," the official added.

Officials said the newly appointed U.S. envoy for Middle East security,
James Jones, will not serve as the direct "judge" of whether the parties are complying with their commitments.

Rather than publicly name a judge, American diplomats in the region working with the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate in Jerusalem will send confidential assessments and recommendations to the State Department in Washington.

Decisions on whether to issue the parties passing, failing and warning marks will ultimately rest with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or President George W. Bush, officials said.

A senior official said final judgments "will come from the U.S. government as an institution, not an individual".

Some former and current officials questioned the effectiveness of monitoring conducted largely in secret.

"Not conducting diplomacy in the glare of the public is often a good way to go," said former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf, who served for seven months as chief U.S. monitor of the "road map" after its launch in 2003.

"But if it is done in secret, and if it stays secret, it gives people the opportunity to question our even-handedness," said Wolf, whose own assessments as monitor were kept secret.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said U.S. judgments should not be hidden because "the whole point of it is to tell the world who is implementing and who is not".

A Western diplomat said of plans to maintain secrecy: "Both sides don't want to be publicly blamed for their shortcomings."

Another diplomat said: "Hush hush means no effectiveness".

Israel fears crisis with U.S. over impasse in peace talks

A senior adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel may come into conflict with the United States over increased pressure by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to advance talks with the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, the Israeli and PA negotiating teams, headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qureia, respectively, are to meet Sunday ahead of Tuesday's meeting between Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The U.S. might want to up the pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations in the first stage of the road map, the adviser said in private conversations, particularly removing illegal outposts and freezing construction in the territories.

"Their demands from Israel will only increase and it is not certain that we can meet them under the circumstances," he added.

The adviser said that in Vice Premier Haim Ramon's talks with American officials, he had gone "too far in promising them things to please them."

Another senior government official involved in the talks also warned of expected crises with the Palestinians and the Americans.

"Israel has created a series of far-reaching expectations in the international arena," this official said, referring to the implementation of the first part of the road map, "but this is not going to happen."

"There is no political capability either to evacuate settlements or freeze construction in the settlements," the second official added.

According to this official, the problem will be even greater when negotiations begin on the core issues. "There are detailed files that include Israel's position on the day negotiations came to a halt in 2001," he said. "What will happen when they open the Jerusalem file, for example? They'll find that Israel's final position at Taba is light-years away from Israel's opening position today."

Israel's main problem is the Palestinians' lack of faith in Olmert's and Livni's intentions. Construction in Har Homa and reports of talks toward a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza have created great suspicion on the Palestinian side.

The U.S. administration is not satisfied with Israel's conduct, especially with regard to the tender for new construction in Har Homa and reports of planning for a new neighborhood in Atarot in north Jerusalem.

Livni, the main impetus behind the talks, reportedly wants to keep them low profile to avoid widely-publicized crises like those in the last round of talks between the teams.

Olmert also wants to move the talks ahead, but to do so without breaking up the coalition. Meanwhile, sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau said that negotiations will not move ahead, at least not before President George W. Bush's visit on January 9.

One of the problems in the talks is that Israel has still not decided how the political-security establishment will prepare for them.

Olmert met with Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday to discuss the matter.

The main point of agreement among the three is to appoint Brigadier General Udi Dekel as head of the negotiation administration, although it is not clear whether he has accepted the post.

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  • Olmert: No firm timetable for peace talks with Palestinians
  • PM to Haaretz: Two states, or Israel is done for
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      1.   People in the US will not tolerate the relationship with Israel.. 03:22  |  POP 23/12/07
      2.   now there is a shocker!! izzy wants the land not peace 03:33  |  US citizen 23/12/07
      3.   freeze squatter settlement and dont build more or lose US welfare 03:37  |  ko`pish? 23/12/07
      4.   It is absurd that Israel needs - and fears - 03:42  |  Rebekah S 23/12/07
      5.   US Citizen, Can you say Bigot.... 03:50  |  Nephtaly 23/12/07
      6.   Pop... Which is.. 03:53  |  Nephtaly 23/12/07
      7.   The SQUATTERS need to leave! 03:57  |  POP 23/12/07
      8.   POP goes the weasel 03:59  |  * BEN JABO 23/12/07
      9.   To POP#1 04:00  |  Boruch 23/12/07
      10.   POP 04:01  |  G. 23/12/07
      11.   #2 To US citizen the clown 04:09  |  Boruch 23/12/07
      12.   national aspirations of autonomi arabs are palest kingdom 04:11  |  z 23/12/07
      13.   i agree with comments 1-3 04:15  |  Michael 23/12/07
      14.   #2 U.S. Citizen, (so he claims) 04:18  |  * BEN JABO 23/12/07
      15.   Israel is probably better off without the US anyway... 04:19  |  Matt 23/12/07
      16.   The whole scenario Part 1 04:21  |  Nephtaly 23/12/07
      17.   "PALESTINE" IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY 04:21  |  20x20 23/12/07
      18.   now there is a shocker!! CRIST wants the land not peace 04:24  |  Buba 23/12/07
      19.   not florida 04:27  |  hank 23/12/07
      20.   Dream On POP 04:28  |  Jane 23/12/07
      21.   Israel is not a bannana republic 04:28  |  Rabbi yakov Lazaros 23/12/07
      22.   Condoleezza Rice is the reason why Sharon is in the coma 04:34  |  Like it is 23/12/07
      23.   The whole scenario Part 2 04:46  |  Nephtaly 23/12/07
      24.   Don`t Blow It Again 04:53  |  Ron the American 23/12/07
      25.   Pop 05:16  |  Nephtaly 23/12/07
      26.   Amazing, but not amazed 05:16  |  3arabi 23/12/07
      27.   22. condosleeza!! knew there had to be a reason for her 05:17  |  Mashallah 23/12/07
      28.   Pro-Pals always dreaming Israel will collapse tomorrow 05:20  |  Sam 23/12/07
      29.   What`s the problem? 05:20  |  Ernie 23/12/07
      30.   2/5/11 US Citizen Right. Izzy Can`t Bite Hand That Feeds 05:33  |  Another US Citizen 23/12/07
      31.   21/ Not Banana Republic - Worse than that Matso Republic 05:41  |  1 state solution 23/12/07
      32.   Iknow I`m a Pro Israel Bigot, but... 05:44  |  * BEN JABO 23/12/07
      33.   21. og course we are not a banana republic!! we are a narco repub 05:48  |  proud joooooo 23/12/07
      34.   Are you people nieve...Olmerts games. 06:02  |  Steven 23/12/07
      35.   POP 06:04  |  David 23/12/07
      36.   I could be wrong? Re; post 1 06:05  |  POP 23/12/07
      37.   We`ve all heard what Israel has to give and sacrifice but what 06:10  |  Marwan مروان خوري 23/12/07
      38.   And what about a clash regarding Iran 06:12  |  Frank 23/12/07
      39.   No "Road Map" worries - Abbas has firmly rejected it. 06:16  |  Dr. L. Brnd 23/12/07
      40.   clash 06:22  |  Shmuelshachor 23/12/07
      41.   Glad to see that the brainwashed Islamo-fascist sympathizers 06:31  |  Marwan مروان خوري 23/12/07
      42.   20x20 - US dollar 06:38  |  Gregor 23/12/07
      43.   Saudi Arabia is more Valuable to the USA than Israel. 06:38  |  POP 23/12/07
      44.   US Isreal impasse 06:40  |  Ari 23/12/07
      45.   When In Trouble Or In Doubt, Run In Circles, Scream And Sou 06:45  |  DoubleClick 23/12/07
      46.   South Africa? No, more like Zimbabwe! 06:46  |  RedStarYeast 23/12/07
      47.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel 07:09  |  Miri 23/12/07
      48.   USA will pay for that...as always 07:13  |  Miri 23/12/07
      49.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel. 07:19  |  Miri 23/12/07
      50.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel 07:22  |  Miri 23/12/07
      51.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel 07:23  |  Miri 23/12/07
      52.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel 07:24  |  Miri 23/12/07
      53.   Let Israel sink or swim based on its own abilities 07:25  |  Natallie Durson 23/12/07
      54.   Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel 07:26  |  Miri 23/12/07
      55.   Yellowstone Volcano is next...... 07:27  |  Miri 23/12/07
      56.   to Ben Jabo 07:33  |  David 23/12/07
      57.   A client state 07:36  |  PARIS 23/12/07
      58.   #14 Ben Jabo About Taxes. 07:45  |  Maureen Ann 23/12/07
      59.   Israel had better make a deal from strength now. 07:57  |  R 23/12/07
      60.   When will the U.S give Texas back to Mexico? 08:41  |  Beni 23/12/07
      61.   POP you need to wake up to the truth!!! 08:55  |  Zahara Cohen 23/12/07
      62.   Well Maybe Olmert Is Finally Getting It 09:04  |  ralphrants1 23/12/07
      63.   What Many American Jews Want 09:13  |  American Jew 23/12/07
      64.   What did you REALLY expect? 09:16  |  Michael N 23/12/07
      65.   talk is cheap! the nitwits are in charge of the ideas 09:21  |  victor hardman 23/12/07
      66.   to Miri #27 - the key to understanding 09:21  |  zeev 23/12/07
      67.   US AID spent on US Jobs 09:23  |  ralphsrant1 23/12/07
      68.   Saudi Money Speaks 09:27  |  Sam Weinstein 23/12/07
      69.   US was a superpower and Bush is going away 09:32  |  Mike 23/12/07
      70.   to Rabbi yakov Lazaros #21 09:35  |  zeev 23/12/07
      71.   20 Jane of Palm Beach 09:40  |  Mark of Lewiston 23/12/07
      72.   Is it possible for a leftist Israeli leader to put Israel first? 09:47  |  Binyamin Dissen 23/12/07
      73.   Who needs the US 09:58  |  Concerned Citizen 23/12/07
      74.   Our friends. 10:17  |  Vital 23/12/07
      75.   OOOh the US citizens are finally waking up to the reality 10:17  |  Canadian Citizen 23/12/07
      76.   On Israeli`s 60 year core policy of land theft 10:38  |  Clickfool 23/12/07