Mitchell soothes Israel

Last update - 13:46 09/06/2009       
U.S. envoy assures Israel of close alliance, despite policy rift
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent

 

U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell assured Israel on Tuesday that Washington would remain its close ally despite differences over West Bank settlements and peacemaking with the Palestinians.

 

Mitchell told President Shimon Peres his goal was to create conditions for "prompt resumption and early conclusion" of talks leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state "side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel".

 

U.S. President Barack Obama, who sent Mitchell back to the Middle East, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are at odds over settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli leader's reluctance to endorse Palestinian statehood.
 
"Let me be clear. These are not disagreements among adversaries. The United States and Israel are and will remain close allies and friends," Mitchell said.

 

Mitchell also met on Tuesday morning with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who helps oversee settlement policy, and was slated to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day.

 

Netanyahu has refused to accept U.S. calls to support the creation of a
Palestinian state and freeze settlement construction on captured lands claimed by the Palestinians. That has led to the most public disagreement between Israel and the U.S. in a decade.

 

"We all share an obligation to create the conditions for the prompt resumption and early conclusion of negotiations," Mitchell said at a meeting with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.

 

He tried to allay Israeli fears of a rift with Washington, saying the policy gaps are not "disagreements among adversaries" and that the two countries remain close allies and friends.

 

In Mitchell's meeting with Barak in Tel Aviv, the two discussed the question of settlement construction, Barak's office said in a statement.

 

The two also spoke about ways to advance the Palestinian economy and develop its infrastructure and legal system.

 

Mitchell was scheduled to meet later Tuesday with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and then to travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Obama spoke on the telephone Monday night, in a conversation which the PM's Bureau described as positive.

 

Netanyahu updated Obama on his plan to make an important political speech at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday, where he will outline his program for peace and security.

 

Obama reportedly said that he is eager to hear the speech and the two leaders agreed to continue their telephone exchanges.

 

Mitchell reportedly told former MK Yossi Beilin that the U.S. would like to commence negotiations on the core issues of the final status agreement as soon as possible.

 

The envoy is also expected to raise the possibility of resuming negotiations on the Syrian track. With this in mind, Fred Hoff, Mitchell's chief of staff and a Syria expert, is expected to arrive in Israel, too. Mitchell will continue on to Damascus and Beirut later this week.

 

Another matter expected to top the agenda during the meetings is the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and Barak will brief Mitchell about Wednesday's scheduled special cabinet meeting on the subject, expected to result in a decision to lift restrictions on importing foodstuffs and other goods into the Strip. The cabinet is also expected to lift the ban on exports.

 

Meanwhile, Abbas met with Beilin at the Muqata'a government compound in Ramallah Monday, where the Palestinian leader expressed his satisfaction with the results of his White House meeting with President Obama, two weeks ago. "Washington has changed its attitude toward the Palestinians completely," Abbas told Beilin.

 

During their conversation, Abbas said the PA intends to meet the U.S. demand to cease incitement against Israel by official Palestinian organs. "There are things that we need to correct in our official media and elsewhere," Abbas said. "I am in favor of dealing with these issues. But at the same time, Israel needs to address similar matters, too."

 

Abbas talked extensively about the PA's activities against Hamas in the West Bank and noted the recent clashes in Qalqilyah, during which two militants and three PA police officers were killed. "We are doing a great deal to preserve security," Abbas said.

 

Abbas also emphasized his wish to resume negotiations on a final status agreement as soon as possible.