U.S. official: Obama 'very pleased' with outcome of Mideast peace summit
Prime Minister Netanyahu, senior Palestinian and Arab leaders expressed similar optimism following their meeting last week.
By Avi Issacharoff and Barak RavidU.S. President Barack Obama is very pleased with the outcome of the Washington summit and plans to play a personal role to move the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians forward, a senior U.S. official told Haaretz over the weekend.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of senior Palestinian and other Arab leaders expressed similar optimism.
The senior official said Obama had cleared his entire schedule last Wednesday to devote himself to the summit. "He never invested in any other issue this way," the official said.
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From left, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah in Washington on September 2, 2010. |
| Photo by: AFP |
Senior U.S. officials were encouraged by the discussions at the dinner where Obama hosted Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah. They said a sincere and open conversation took place on the possibilities for progress in the peace process. The officials said they had the impression the Palestinians left the summit very pleased as well.
Preparations will begin this week for the second round of talks, scheduled for September 14 at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
Speaking to Haaretz over the weekend, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denied statements to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam by another senior Palestinian negotiator, Nabil Shaath, that the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams would hold a preparatory meeting tomorrow in Jericho in the presence of the Americans.
Shaath also told Al-Ayyam that Obama had announced he was going to visit the region to move the peace talks ahead, but had not decided on a date, and that he had promised that his efforts to stop the settlements would continue.
The talks in Sharm are expected to last for one day and deal with borders and security arrangements, as agreed at the summit.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special Mideast envoy George Mitchell will also attend the talks. The following day, the parties will meet for talks in Ramallah and Jerusalem.
Yesterday, aides to Abbas told the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat that the atmosphere in the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks had "taken a 180-degree turn" for the better. They said the Palestinian delegation was pleased the United States planned to include all the core issues in an agreement to be reached by the end of 2011.
According to the report, during his meeting with Netanyahu, Abbas presented the points agreed on with former prime minister Ehud Olmert and agreements in principle on security and borders. The Palestinian sources said Netanyahu and Abbas discussed the settlements in general, but no detailed proposals were made.
Netanyahu is to discuss the summit and the continuation of the talks in his regular address to the weekly cabinet meeting.
Over the coming days, Netanyahu is expected to try to keep his coalition in line despite right-wing protests over his speeches during the summit. Tomorrow he will host all cabinet ministers, coalition Knesset members and their spouses at a Rosh Hashanah toast, where he is expected to call for unity.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at a press conference in Cyprus over the weekend: "I'm not sure all the sensitive issues like Jerusalem and refugees can be solved in only a year. The more practical approach is to reach a long-term interim agreement," he said.
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Dont make me laugh ... they have not even started yet
This not the blessed one ' The Prince Obama" land to give away, nor is it yours. This is God,s blessed land.
I am glad we have a young leader. He has grown up knowing China as a trade partner; in fact, he grew up in Hawaii. He lives in a city, Chicago, where the school children learn Chinese. He knows that international trade gives people the hope for a better life and reduces the threat of war; what more do China and the Chinese really want? I don't see why the Middle East, which I am sure is on the road to international trade and economic prosperity in the future, is any different. What more do the people want than economic well being and no war. Today americans learn about China, India, and the muslim countries. We are expanding our education to understand people, who are in developing countries. I hope and think that 5, 10, 15 or 50 years from now, things will be better, as peace and economic prosperity is achieved. BTW, Sarah Palin has never been to Israel; she only had a gift someone from her church brought back; what kind of expert is that?
At last somebody's happy with the outcome of the peace talks in U S A. Can somebody tells me , what the outcome was.
He is feeling the same sense of giddy delight that Clinton, Bush, and Carter felt when they were optimistic about peace talks. Just give it time. He will be as disillusioned as they were.
The muslim american president is very pleased with the talks of peace. Lies He is pleased that he was able to stop the downslide of his rates temperory
Well, at least they're trying something, honestly i couldn't care less what Obama thinks, i just want this thing over with so that we finally can live like normal people.. Jordan made peace a million years ago and everything is going really well, it's time for everyone else to join.. The region is like a big school yard with crying babies, he took my ball, i want my ball well boo effing hoo .. stop the war and enough is enough..
with 100 other Jewish tourists, coming from a trip to Israel. It is an amazing country with both beautiful sites and wonderful people. And that restaurant Kan Zaman, wow - what an experience. We all loved the trip, the atmosphere, your beautiful cities and hospitality. Let's pray the rest of the ME follows suit.
pa forces have stopped many courriers bringing cash from abroad to hamas. these courriers are teachers, doctors, merchants. they are below the intelligence radar. at friday prayers at al aqsa mosque, attended by close to two hundred thousand people, sheikh yusef abu sneineh criticised the re-launch of the middle east peace talks calling them a joke. hamas, for its part, declared: "jerusalem will not be liberated by negotiations but by jihad and resistance."
Hi Cipora. I'd like to wish you a very good & Happy Rosh Hashana. Your one of the better talkbackers on these forums.
approach in launching this summit towards direct talks between this Israeli government and the Palestinians. We must remain hopeful that on this Jewish calendar year of 5770, a comprehensive peace agreement will be achieved in the Middle East.
Yup. Everybody agreed to meet again. Huge strides made.
As a Palestinian I have high hopes for this round of peace talks. We can point fingers at each other and voice our skepticism but that will only preserve the status quo. Even though I was never a fan of Netenyahu....I was actually moved by one of his comments at the launch of the peace talks. He spoke of "Two brothers in conflict that were able to set aside there differences and come together to bury their father". These brothers were Isaac and Ismail burying their father Abraham in Hibron (Al-Khalil). If we focus on that moment in time and recognize the mutual rights of all descendants of Abraham to share the land, we can come to an agreement. This will be uneasy at first, but I'm sure in time we can learn to respect one another. Then maybe... just maybe we will realize the the blood that was shed came from the same bloodline. PEACE, SALAM, SHALOM....Insha'Allah.
i only wish all palestinians agreed with you.
In two months we will see a new outlook and display or the people's will in the US, which will bode well for Israel, as the radical lefty Democrats will be tossed out. Once this happens, Obama will have less leeway and support to pressure Israel to bend to his radical desires and legitimize the illegitimate Muslim regimes. The next phase will be if Sarah Palin is elected in the 2012 race. She understands what is happening in the region as well as the world, and will bring back sanity and realism to US foreign policy. She genuinely values Israel, and is the only one who can match Obama's charisma and beat him. This sequence of events will halt the slide to the regional chaos and dangerous fantasy which Obama is abetting with his appeasement and lack of understanding. Israel has to stand firm until the elections in two months. Will they? I hope so.
I doubt Ms Palin can locate "the region" on the map. As for bringing sanity to US foreign policy if she got her way she'd only bring about war and chaos. One can only hope the Pentagon would refuse to follow her orders and depose her in a coup. Thankfullly I have slightly more confidence in the American people than you do, sir
A quote from a JPost article states that, "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, reportedly said that Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people, forged elections, suppresses the Iranian people and stole the authority. [He] is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the president of Palestine." There you go Iran, your charade about caring about the Palestinians was exposed and your glorious ego publicly dressed down. Your idiot president is a laughing stock even in Gaza for promising to be their deliverer and then cowardly backing out when he stuck his toes in the chilly Persian Gulf to test the waters and caught a cold, thus abandoning his gallant, theoretical mission.
Abbas is not the PA President, he is a bought of stooge.Only alive because he is reciving money and guns from the EU and USA.In any free election HAMAS would be the winner.What a chuzpah not to mention his Mossad/CIA backedcoup the etat in Gazais but lie about elections in Iran. any proo
the palestinian/isreali peace talks have drawn the biggest clowns in the world....nothing gonna happen except 3rd rate entetainment.....'60 reruns of all in the family better...not to wrry the jews win again! big surprise huh? its a fake
We always do- its inevitable.
what is there to be pleased about?
As much as I would love to see peace world wide I have this sinister feeling that something is not right with this 'FAST TRACK' peace.
Peace can happen in an instant.. Certainly a year is long enough to sort things out. Bigger, more difficult matters have been settled in less time for G-d's sake. If both sides would cease from thinking of themselves as the center of the universe and get down to business, there's no reason why this can't work.
Bush agreeing to end the war in Iraq must have really surprised you, as has Obama keeping Bush's word in Iraq. 43 years after first occupying the West Bank, is hardly a fast track, Alex. And it might take ten more years to implement. The current status of this conflict is only fast when compared to the 100 Years War.
Yes Esme, there IS one reason why this peace process cannot work,,, and the words are Gaza, Haniyeh, Meschal. Unfortunately, Gaza is bad, bad news for ANYBODY within their reach. Yes Sir, they are long-term trouble!
Yes Esme, there IS one reason why this peace process cannot work,,, and the words are Gaza, Haniyeh, Meschal. Unfortunately, Gaza is bad, bad news for ANYBODY within their reach. Yes Sir, they are long-term trouble!
When one looks back, it is clearly seen that the greater the "friendship" of a US President to Israel (meaning that he applies less pressure on Israel to pursue peace), the less is accomplished. Our greatest "friends" were Clinton and G. Dubya Bush. Clinton did everything Barak asked him to do, including in Camp David. The result: no peace, only Intifada II. Dubya Bush came up with the Roadmap, a plan but no pressure on Israel. Nothing useful resulted. Looking back at the "bad" presidents, Nixon helped Israel with military equipment in Yom Kippur, but then prevented Israel from vanquishing the Egyptian Third Army. He preserved Egypt's honor, and peace became possible. Carter was even insulting in his pressure on Begin. But he ended up god-fathering the Peace Agreement with Sadat. Papa Bush was publicly pushing Shamir, even causing his regime to fall, This resulted in the Madrid Conference which led to Oslo. Obama seems to be made of different stuff. He aspires to do what is "right", more than what political considerations dictate, as he did with healthcare. If the Likud brings upon us an imposed international solution, so be it. The cure will be better than the continuation of the present diseased situation.
Truly interesting comment. Unfortunately you fail to mention that the peace process requires all parties to want peace. You shamelessly and ignorantly blame Israel when the truth is quite the opposite. Jordan and Egypt were the exception: Jordan needed peace to preserve its autonomy. It traded peace with Israel to protect itself from the Palestinians. Egypt had no stomach and, more importantly, no money to maintain its hostilities. Israel was in turn able to maintain security while compromising.
Peace of the grave methinks according to Logios .Writes well but thoughtless on many aspects Jason Logios is a dunderheaded old fool Thinks not with his brains because because his brain cells are not functioning as it should.Pity the poor creature delusioanary thinking..
He wouldn't be otherwise would he ? Trying to keep the Democratic vote and face saving
Wow! Unemployment is that high. The Republican plan to prevent economic recovery by stopping all recovery legislation is working that well? What will they do for an encore? They tried to kill the US auto industry. And they gave $Trillions to Wall Street. So what is the next part of their plan? Maybe another unpaid-for war? Some of the US military is still alive and functional.
BHO is pleased ooohh really,while he is happy his country is ina downward spiral.9% up in unemployment,houses repossessions.Yah right happy is BHO.The dimmicrats are fighting for their survival.Republicans are on the way..Happiness comes not ina vacuum..
Taxing the rich halps not the economy. It is the rich that provides jobs and the poor are able to earn a good living.Taxing the wealthy improves not the economy.To the contrary it loses much in the economy department.BHO is running in where fools do not rush but flee.So yes the econnomy may not hurt the likes of Lewiston, it hurts the LOWER MIDDLE CLASS .
As expected and music to my ears. We'll soon be saying hello to a newly created Palestinian state and good-bye to increasing ME instability.
Don't be too sure jake more to come and this is but A PHOTO op that anyone an perform. The main thing is BHO's concern of the November election.Apart form the sticking point what I see is an IMATURE photo all of them MARCHING ON ATHAT WILL EVENTUAALLY snd not far off will COME CRASHING down with BIG BUMP. your entusiam is bthing but a BIG BALOON full of HOT AIR that will low into the faces of BHO,Clinton and the rest of the wishful thinking bunch that have nothing but WORRYING only of their BUTTS.The only one I for one am interested in IS BB .Just let him take a step into the wrong directiion and give more than Israel can afford he will be LINCHED BY HIS googlies if you get my meaning.So,no need for your rejoising about a Pal state dear jacko ... time is not now OR EVER for Israel to have MINI TALIBAN ON ITS DOORSTEP . Therefore your glee is misplaced totally. And if you think once (if there is peace with the pals) THE WHOLE ME will be quiet and peaceful THAN YOU ARE DELUDED AND NEED TO HEAD EXAMINED.Too many dirty dees has been passed under the DIRTY WATERS tyo cleanse it .just likle that ha jako NOR AS EASY AS YOUR IMAGINATIION DESIRES.Intability is a non stop phenomenon perpetrated BY ISLAMISM..yOU SORT THAT OUT TOTALLY FIRST,THEN THEE MAY BE SOME HOPE.i FOR ONE CANNOT IMAGINE IT EVER HAPPENING. NOT IN YOUR LIFETIME,NOT IN MINE(Am probably younger tha you) and cannot see the end of the conflict any time soon.Perhaps in a cople of hudred years or so,when ISLAM DECIDES TO CONVERT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION,AND ABANDON THE PRESENT ONE WHICH IS KILLING THE WORLD BODIES .I AM NEITHER A FOOL,NOR AN OPTIMISTIC,NOR IF I MAY A TOTAL PESSIMISTIC WAIT.>. ONE AY THEY SAY ONE TING AND WITH THE SAME BREATH IN ANONO SECOND CHANGE THIER MINDS CONFUSION ALL AROUND. CAN'T TRUST ANY OF THEM IF PROOF NEEDED YOU HAVE THEIR OBVIOUS STANCE IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES. I CALL THE WHOLE THING:ARAFAT NUMBER TWO.IN SHORT THEY ARE GOING BACKWARDS INSTEAD OF FORWARD. END OF MY PHILOSOPHICAL THESIS/PREDICTIONS p/s sorry for the caps...too lazy to bothr
....to think much as well, by the looks of it. Basically like so many others you just want to preserve the status quo. But your arguments for doing so are puerile and self-serving. Change is coming whether you like it or not.
WORDS from ORATORS, as sadly predicted, are UNSATISFACTORY to the hungry crowd. The small boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fish needs to be found.
After the midterms, Hussein will be in no condition to do anything to mess with Israel's security. Just wait until he gets his comeuppance.
It is about the Israeli and the Palestinian people. They need peace to live their normal life. enough killings.
Obama is very pro-Israel as evidenced by his every move- against all odds, he's trying to facilitate a two state solution which according to poll after poll is the desire of the Israeli people. The only president ever to remotely put Israel on the hot sit was George Bush in the early 90s.
its supposed to be land for peace remember, and Israel will always have borders does'nt matter how much land they take or give back and they are loaded with weaponry, peace is allways better than full blown war, maybe you dint think so?
I forgot, the Jews are poised to remove the president from power because he's just SO biased against Israel, right?! Get over yourself you schmuck. Obama has been scrupulously fair and honest in his dealings with Israel. Like so many others you just cannot bear this DECENT US president employing an even-handed approach to the ME. You have been thoroughly spoilt, and most decent people in the world would like to see Israel's selfish actions curtailed. Good luck Obama.
TYrusting Is just a word to be taken with a grain of salt. Do I rust BHO? not at all.He --BHOis only fr himself. Nothing more nothing less.Think November that's what itis all about.There fore we must ensure how we vote next time round.