U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell told journalists after the September 1 + 2 meetings in Washington that were said to have relaunched direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians that “Any realistic appraisal of the situation, including the recent history – by which I mean the last two decades – makes clear that there are very serious differences between the parties, that there are many difficulties which lay ahead both in terms of the substance of the issues, the impact on their domestic politics, the needs and interests of their societies. We have not, of course, attempted to prescribe what they can or should say about any issue. These are independent and extremely able leaders representing the interests of their societies. What we have sought to convey in innumerable conversations that I have had personally with both leaders over many, many months is President Obama’s conviction that despite all of the difficulties – near term, long term, political, substantive, personal, and otherwise – the paramount goal of making the lives of their citizens more safe, more secure, more prosperous, more full can best be achieved by a meaningful and lasting peace between the parties and in the region; that the alternative to that poses difficulties and dangers far greater to the individuals, to the leaders, to their societies, than those risks which they run in an effort to reach an agreement that brings about their lasting peace; that any realistic evaluation of the self-interest of the people of Israel and the Palestinian people must, in our judgment, conclude that they are far better off living side by side in two states in peace and security than in a continuation of the current situation“.
Archive for the ‘Middle East peace process’ Category
George Mitchell on direct talks
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Quartet on U.S. invitation: negotiations can be completed in one year
Saturday, August 21st, 2010Here is what the Quartet said after the U.S. issued invitations to Israel and the Palestinian leadership today, to start direct talks in Washington D.C. on 2 September:
“The representatives of the Quartet reaffirm their strong support for direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve all final status issues. The Quartet reaffirms its full commitment to its previous statements, including in Trieste on 26 June 2009, in New York on 24 September 2009, and its statement in Moscow on 19 March 2010 which provides that direct, bilateral negotiations that resolve all final status issues should ‘lead to a settlement, negotiated between the parties, that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors’. The Quartet expresses its determination to support the parties throughout the negotiations, which can be completed within one year, and the implementation of an agreement”…
Mitchell back for a quickie
Monday, August 9th, 2010U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell arrived back in the region on Monday night for a quickie — after rumors and subsequent denials of threats and pressures, particularly on the Palestinian side, to move from indirect or “proximity” to direct talks which Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has suggested could last for years.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his people appear to have done little to discourage denunciation of the talks. The jailed Fatah personality Marwan Barghouthi, serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in the second Palestinian intifada, issued a statement last week through a lawyer saying that the talks were against the Palestinian national interest. Marwan Barghouthi was elected to the powerful Fatah Central Committee at a rare General Conference closely choreographed by Abbas supporters that met for ten days in Bethlehem last August.
During Mitchell’s previous visit, for the sixth round of “proximity” talks, a Palestinian representative of a group putting up posters around the West Bank advocating a one-state (rather than the two-state) solution was invited to make a presentation during the Abbas-Mitchell meeting.
Abbas gave a private briefing to Palestinian journalists in Ramallah on Monday evening.
What has George Mitchell achieved so far?
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley said at the Daily Press Briefing for journalists in Washington, DC on Wednesday 21 July — in response to questions — that U.S. Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell had returned from his latest efforts in “proximity” talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and had achieved… “A lot of frequent flyer miles (laughter).”…
Desperate for a two-state solution?
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010British Prime Minister David Cameron said, in a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on 20 July that “we desperately need a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians that provides security, justice and hope. As we were discussing over lunch, it is time for direct talks, not least because it is time for each, Israel and Palestine, to test the seriousness of the other”…
The full transcript of their remarks is posted here.
Saeb Erekat: We declared our independence in 1988 – it’s up to the international community to declare recognition”
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Haaretz service is reporting that Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, said in an interview with Turkish state television TRT that “A unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state is ‘not on the agenda’ … ‘We declared our independence in 1988′, Erekat said. ‘Now it’s up to the international community to declare recognition of our independence … Our option is a two-state solution. We have recognized the state of Israel and its right to exist on the 1967 borders. Now it’s up to the international community to stand firm and recognize Palestine on the 1967 lines with Jerusalem as its capital’.”
According to Haaretz, Erekat also said in the interview that: “Our position is that the key to direct negotiations is in the hand of Mr. Netanyahu … The minute he stops settlement activities including natural growth in Jerusalem, the minute he agrees to go to permanent status talks, where we left them in December 2008, we’ll have direct talks … The Israelis have a choice, settlements or peace. They can’t have both”. These remarks are reported here.