Netanyahu hopes Obama meeting will pave way for direct Mideast talks
U.S. President to host PM on Tuesday; Netanyahu tells cabinet: There is no substitute for direct negotiations.
By News Agencies Tags: Middle East peace Barack Obama Benjamin Netanyahu Israel newsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes his upcoming meeting with President Barack Obama will lead to the current indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks being replaced by direct negotiations between the sides.
"The main goal of the talks with President Obama will be to advance direct talks in the peace process between us and the Palestinians," Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting in the U.S. in January 2010. |
| Photo by: (GPO) |
"On the issue of direct talks, there is no substitute for entering into such negotiations ... One cannot raise ideas in either the media or by other means, and avoid that direct contact, that is the only possible way to bring about a solution to the conflict between us and the Palestinians. We are 10 minutes apart. Ramallah almost touches Jerusalem," an official cabinet communique quoted him as saying
Netanyahu is due to meet Obama in Washington on Tuesday.
Indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks got under way in April, after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had initially refused to conduct negotiations until Israel ceased all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The White House said Friday that the four rounds of talks, mediated by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who shuttles between Jerusalem and Ramallah, have been "quite substantive" so far.
But Palestinians have denied that progress has been made, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit was quoted by a pan-Arab daily Saturday as saying that Mitchell's approach to the indirect talks might require 10 years to achieve results.
Palestinians also denied a report in the London-based al-Hayat daily, which claimed Saturday that Abbas has agreed that in any peace agreement Israel can retain control of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site still in use, and of the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Dismissing the report, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel Radio that the current indirect talks were secret and would not be released to the public.
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The negotiations have already been done. Netanyahu has acceped them. The freeze will continue, the US will quash any investigation, and Netanyahu will be pose for pictures. Michael Steele's comments weakened the Republican threat of any big change in Congress. Stopping the F-15 sales to Saudi Arabia will cost AIPAC bigtime.
The deal is mostly known, 67 borders with some land swaps, there are still some issues outstanding like security, water and which land will be swapped. Can Netanyahu or even Abbas sign agreement is unknown but it seems that Netanyahu is staling for time, which is running out.
Why do newspapers even print what Netanyahu says, or at least without the qualifier: "reader, keep in mind, everything this guy says is a lie."
The main issue is "substantive" talks: Jerusalem, borders, refugees. The Israeli government has already played out all its games: talk about talks that will lead to talks about talks. Netanyahu still seems to think that running a country is a public relations exercise (that's what he studied in school).
Be careful PM Netanyahu, I wouldn't trust one word out of Obama's mouth! He will "throw you under the bus" to make a "peace" deal that will only benefit the Arabs.
Obama, the US Military establishment (yes!) and many other centers of power in the US believe Israel is a nuisance that has outlived its usefulness. Please see Caroline Glick's latest in the Jerusalem Post. I was stunned when I read her report.
Funny how Netanyahu and Obama do all this talk about 'peace' and yet totally fail to include the Palestinians in their little chats. The fact is the 'peace' talk is rubbish for the press to create the impression that they are talking about the real issues in the region and not their upcoming joint-attack on Iran, which both would welcome as a distraction from their totally failed policies and various crimes.
The breakdown in relations between Israel and Turkey is a problem for the US since both countries are valued friends. Israeli paranoia would not allow an international commission of inquiry, so Obama is trying to convince Turkey that it may suffer a setback if it insists on such an inquiry (which the Security Council already recommended). Perhaps Obama has a point, but this is not clear. According to many, the "siege" of Gaza amounted to a possible crime against humanity. If the naval blockade was an enforcement of an illegal act, then the blockade itself was illegal. Obama tries hard to smooth out the relationship, but I don't think his intervention will do much good. For the two sides to reconcile, the truth must be found by an independent international commission.
Obama is the new MLK, and Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank are the new Slave States to be freed.
Politicians who repeatedly do not deliver what they promise, by falsely presenting themselves as peacemakers, should be treated in law as fraudulent criminals.
Successful negotiations requires good faith and a commitment to justice. Obama recognizes Netanyahu's efforts have been half-hearted because of his entanglements with radical settlers and religious extremists. Abbas provides proposals while Netanyahu attempts to divert attention to emotions, fears and prejudices.
...simply (and inadvertently) being "fully transparent!"