U.S. Mideast envoy: Settlements are not the only issue

WASHINGTON - The U.S. administration's special envoy to the region told the heads of several U.S. Jewish groups yesterday that while the issue of Israeli settlements comes up in every conversation with Arab leaders, "it is not the only issue."

George Mitchell, who is scheduled to depart this weekend for his second visit to the Middle East, also said the U.S. was committed both to Israel's security and to the establishment of a Palestinian state. He was speaking with the Jewish leaders by conference call.

Call participants included Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; UJC representative rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Ira Forman, Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC); representatives of J Street; Americans for Peace Now and others.

The U.S. envoy stressed that economic peace between Israel and the Palestinians, without diplomatic efforts, would not succeed, and said that diplomatic and economic efforts "must be parallel, not sequential. You can't have economic development when you're shutting the door in the face of any diplomatic development."

"We had 700 days of failure in Northern Ireland [where Mitchell served as a central negotiator] and one day of success. I cannot guarantee you a result, but I can guarantee you an effort," he said, adding, "We have a firm and unshakable commitment to the security of the State of Israel, and a commitment to seek a lasting peace based on a two-state solution."

Mitchell announced that while he has no intention of postponing his trip to the region, he also plans to attend the March 2 Gaza Donors Conference in Cairo with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This would be Clinton's first visit to the region since being appointed.

The U.S. administration is waiting to see the results of Israel's coalition negotiations, Mitchell said, adding that when a new coalition is formed, "we'll take up a full range of issues."

The Mideast envoy told the Jewish group leaders that on his way back from his first visit to the region, he was struck while reading the "Mitchell Report" he had written on the Middle East eight years ago, and noted how much has changed in that time.

For instance, he said, Iran was not mentioned in that document, but the country was mentioned in the "first sentence" of every meeting he had with a leader in the region.

Nowadays, he said, all the conflicts in the region are viewed through the Iran prism, and the U.S. administration will devise a "coordinated strategy that will take into account regional leaders' concerns regarding Iran."

Forman said after the conference call: "Clearly they wanted to create the impression that this administration is really serious about input from their constituency groups. I was impressed with their openness. He was comfortable with the role of the diplomat, he knew the politics of the region and he said more than once that two principles that this administration was talking about are an unshakable, firm commitment to peace process that ends up in a two-state solution."