Netanyahu: Israel and U.S. want peace process to begin immediately
U.S. envoy Mitchell says he held 'positive and productive talks' with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
By Reuters Tags: Israel US Middle East peace Israel newsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, briefing the cabinet on his meetings with U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, said Sunday that it would soon become clear whether Middle East peace talks, suspended since December 2008, would resume.
Addressing the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel and the United States want to "begin a peace process immediately", and that he hoped the Palestinians shared the same goal.
"We will know in the coming days whether the process will get under way. I hope that it will indeed get under way," he said in public remarks at the cabinet session.
In a statement summing up his visit, Mitchell said he held "positive and productive talks" with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort "to improve the atmosphere for peace and for proceeding with proximity talks", a reference to indirect, U.S.-mediated negotiations.
Mitchell is expected back in the region next week.
Netanyahu has given no ground publicly over U.S. and Palestinian calls to halt the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, an issue that has driven a wedge between Israel and the United States.
The Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, have demanded a settlement freeze as a condition for peace talks.
Mitchell said in the statement that his deputy, David Hale, would remain behind to work with the parties this week to prepare for his return to the region next week.
On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged U.S. President Barack Obama to impose a solution to the Middle East conflict that would give the Palestinians an independent state.
Abbas' appeal to Obama came amid widespread media reports that the U.S. president was considering floating a proposal that would set the contours of a final peace deal.
Any such move would likely be opposed by Israel, which says only negotiations can secure a final settlement to the conflict.
Aides to Abbas raised the possibility that he would meet Obama in Washington next month but said no invitation had been issued yet.
On Saturday, officials involved in efforts to renew peace talks said that proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians will start no later than mid-May.
European officials who have met in recent days with senior officials at the White House and State Department got the impression that the Obama administration did not expect that the proximity talks would produce any agreement.
The efforts to push the peace process forward are meant to allow the United States to claim some success in its Mideast policy as the region marks one year since Obama's historic address in Cairo.
Officials in Washington say that the talks with the Palestinians will force Netanyahu to reveal his positions beyond those outlined in his speech at Bar-Ilan University last June.
The Americans say that if Netanyahu takes an uncompromising stance in the negotiations, like the one he displays in public, the Labor Party might quit the coalition and pave the way for a new government.
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U.S. envoy George Mitchell |
| Photo by: (Getty) |
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Abbas may talk but that will be all, I think he will play the waiting game
"Palestinians" are defined by their hatred of Israel and Jews--and thus cannot ever have peace with Israel!
T: "The Palestinians absolutely reject any deal without the right of return " That statement is untrue. The PLO position is this: "Attain a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees to be agreed upon in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution No 194." And UNGA Res 194 does not insist upon a "right of return"; it insists that refugees must be allowed to return ***or*** they should be given compensation. So what the Pals are "absolutely rejecting" is the idea that the problem of the refugees should be swept under a rock. T: " (i.e., the Palestinians get Palestine and the Palestinians also get Israel). " That claim exists nowhere except in your imagination. T: " The Israelis reject any deal in which the Palestinians get Israel. " No doubt they would, if such a deal was to be proposed by Abbas. But since that deal is not being suggested by Abbas - nor by anyone EXCEPT you - then I'd have to call that out as a straw man.
And Shalit is to be released imminently.
why else would he continue this worthless effort
Whats left to talk about?
These are the operative principals of the UNSC # 242: ?Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force? Secure and recognized borders are the key to peace. These borders have to be negotiated directly between the parties. At no point does the 242 stipulate the withdrawal of ?ALL settlements to be vacated?(as you describe it). It is in your head only.
All the U.S. has to do is enforce resolution 242 and 338 which call upon Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories, once it does the vacated territories will be declared an independent Palestinian state. All settlements will have to be vacated too as they are deemed illegal under international law. This is not an imposed solution, it is the will of the world community and Israel is a signatory to that resolution. All the now defunct attempts at resolving the conflict such as the road map, Oslo, Wye River, Camp David, etc. are nothing more than side shows meant to bypass the true path to peace which can only be achieved through resolutions 242 and 338. Both sides agreed to it, it is high time we implement it.
If he wanted "peace process to begin immediately" he would have frozen building in any occupied territory and stopped disrespecting human rights.
@Johnboy Very astute of you. Except that Netanyahu doesn't have to drive a stake through the peace process, it is dead on arrival. The Palestinians absolutely reject any deal without the right of return (i.e., the Palestinians get Palestine and the Palestinians also get Israel). The Israelis reject any deal in which the Palestinians get Israel. No possible deal is acceptable to both sides. Therefore no peace is possible. Right now, Obama either doesn't understand that there is no peace deal possible or pretends not to understand that. The president is basically insisting that Netanyahu flap his arms and fly, and is making trouble for Israel until Netanyahu flaps his arms. If someone kept hitting you while insisting that you do something impossible, wouldn't you want to demonstrate that it was impossible? Netanyahu probably hopes that once the effort is made and the President sees that it is impossible, he will get off Israel's back about it.
The US supports Israel?s existence, NOT its expansion. The US has extended it nuclear umbrella to Israel. Nobody has ever, in the history of the world, used nukes on a country to which the US Nuclear Umbrella has been extended.
If there was sincerity in the Israeli people, they would not stand by the Netanyahu-Lieberman-Ultra Orthodox coalition. They would be promoting ways in which Israel can disengage from the occupation. They would be reacting to the abuses of the settlers and the IDF. They would be considering how to strengthen the Palestinian economy so that Palestine can become a viable, governable, prosperous nation-state.
With (junior partner) US showing no ability to give orders to (senior partner) Israel, the lack of credibility means that the talks will just buy Netanyahu few more months of time. All Obama is doing is, in all good faith, pushing the region to a war, so he doesn't get in too much conflict with jews at home.
Go drink your Coolaid Peter. Netanyahu will be remembered more as Judah Maccabee that Judas Escariot. The conflict lies in the USA between the Obama lefty crowd with the entrenched Arab oil bought State Department, and the US Congress which strongly support Israel. The only true statement written in this childish article is "The efforts to push the peace process forward are meant to allow the United States to claim some success in its Mideast policy as the region marks one year since Obama's historic address in Cairo." Obama will cave as the fall elections near and he see's his grip on Congress evaporate. A US President (Clinton 2000) has already given the Arabs a fair deal.....and they rejected it.
I would be inclined to agree with the Peace talks after Palestine agrees to show Israel on all of its MAPS. Continueing to not show Show Israel as a country shows what Palestine really feels.
I have a sneaky feeling that Netanyahu's dyas as P.M. are numbered. Abbas' visit to Washington is a very positive step. Hams and the P.A. should work hard to reconcile so as the division is not played out against the peace process. Netanyahu will agree to Hamas prisoners release prior to his resignation. This would be his only legacy during his last government job. Finaly, Pres. Obama's determination to solve the Palestinian State issue is on track. Stay tune for more.
"Netanyahu: Israel and U.S. want peace process to begin immediately" I'm sure they do, but for vastly different reasons. The USA wants the peace process to begin immediately because it wants that process to advance as quickly as possible to a conclusion i.e. to a peace treaty. Netanyahu wants the peace process to begin immediately so that he can drive a stake through its heart AND blame the Palestinians for killing it off EVEN WHILE he declares that it was a mercy killing. Quite how he plans to pull that off even he probably doesn't know yet, but I have no doubt he is supremely confident he will be able to stage-manage it.
"The US Government does not expect the talks to produce any agreement". In that case why waste the time going through the motions? Settlement activity is bound to continue throughout the talks. They should get on and impose a fair solution NOW!