George Mitchell gets (very mild) rebuke by EU's Ashton in person in Brussels

George Mitchell is still going through the motions.

On his way back to the USA after a more-or-less useless visit to the region, he met yesterday in Brussels with Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s “Foreign Minister” (the exact title is High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy). Ashton is also Vice-President of the European Commission.

Mitchell + Ashton represent half of the Quartet (the USA, EU, Russia + the UN).

After the meeting, Ashton went through the motions of making a statement that was more-or-less identical to one issued in Brussels earlier in the week (see our earlier post on this blog).

What’s new?
Maybe the tone: “urgent progress is needed“…? And, the Palestinian national aspirations were qualified, by Ashton, as “legitimate“…?

The recommendation that the process “should be achieved through negotiations + with the support of the international community”…? The order in the phrasing is apparently a sign of deference to the U.S. backing for Israel’s campaign against any unilateral Palestinian moves towards UN membership for a Palestinian state. [See example of Israeli rhetoric below. Meanwhile, almost every Israeli move, without exception, has been done unilaterally…]

However, the EU seems to be trying to insist that its position be taken more fully into account, (by the lead player, the US), by calling for “the importance of intensified coordination with the Quartet“…?

Continue reading George Mitchell gets (very mild) rebuke by EU's Ashton in person in Brussels

Mitchell back in region, asks Netanyahu to be forthcoming about "core issues"

It was announced by the U.S. State Department today that “Prime Minister Netanyahu and Special Envoy Mitchell explored, in a long and positive discussion, the best way to approach the substantive core issues and advance toward our goal of peace”.

Earlier, Netanyahu gave the Israeli leadership’s take on this meeting in a speech to the Globes business forum that “Today U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell is coming to Israel. He will talk with me today, and tomorrow he will travel to the Palestinian Authority to talk with Abu Mazen. I believe that the United States has succeeded in understanding after a year and a half that we were, in fact, on a dead end road, in a discussion that was in great measure unproductive regarding the peripheral issue of construction, of additional construction in the settlements. The United States understood that what is important is getting to the important issues, the substantial issues, including the core issues that are at the root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians. I welcome the fact that it made this decision, although in the discussions we conducted, we were prepared to examine an additional extension of the moratorium. The United States came to the conclusion, maybe even on the first day, regarding the additional 90 days, that if the Palestinians came to the table, they would talk about the ninety-first day, about extending the moratorium. This is not the way to achieve peace. In order to achieve peace, the issues that are truly delaying the peace must be discussed: the question of recognition, the question of security, the question of various arrangements, refugees, etc., and of course many additional issues. I welcome the fact that we will begin our discussions on these issues; we will narrow the gaps; and probably later on, when these gaps are narrowed, we will also begin direct negotiations with the goal of reaching a framework peace agreement. What we are doing now, in my opinion, is a necessary condition for genuine, concrete discussions regarding the core questions through which a peace agreement can be reached. Therefore, I welcome this American decision. It is good for Israel and it is good for peace”.

In the same speech, the Israeli Prime Minister spoke about the train line which Israel is already building to the Sheikh Hussein crossing to Jordan (just south of the Sea of Galilee) used by Israelis (and foreign passport holders), “with the possibility of connecting a rail line that would of course travel to Irbid and could eventually continue eastwards towards Iraq. There is a lot of sense in this – the British didn’t build these rail lines for no reason. The geographic sense of this can open a door to peace. Certainly the Palestinians could connect to this rail line at their industrial areas near Jenin and sell their goods both to Europe and, no less important, to the Arab world”…

Netanyahu: Ramallah + Jerusalem are only "ten minutes apart"

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the regular weekly meeting of his Cabinet today (Sunday, 4 July 10) that he hopes direct talks with Palestinian officials will be one of the outcomes of his forthcoming trip to Washington.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday.

“Ramallah almost touches Jerusalem”, Netanhayu told his cabinet. “I have been ready to meet with Abu Mazen since this Government’s first day in office”.

Netanyahu noted that “The main goal of the talks with President Obama will be to advance direct talks in the peace process between us and the Palestinians … On the issue of direct talks, there is no substitute for entering into such negotiations. There is no substitute. One cannot raise ideas in either the media or by other means, and avoid that direct contact, that is the only possible way to bring about a solution to the conflict between us and the Palestinians. We are ten minutes apart”.

This is a slight exaggeration, since Netanyahu has probably not been to Ramallah in a long time, and perhaps never. Traffic is absolutely terrible. And the Qalandia checkpoint will probably have to be completely closed down if Netanyahu were ever to come to visit… as he proposed in public remarks in front of journalists when he was meeting U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell last week [See our previous post on this, here.]

Netanyahu added: “Whoever desires peace will hold direct peace talks. I hope that this will be one of the results of my trip to Washington”.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv is reporting today that after the trip to Washington, Netanyahu will make a visit to Cairo to meet Egyptian President Husni Mubarak. Didi Remez has posted a translation of this report into English (from the original Hebrew) on his website here.

Ma’an News Agency is reporting today that “The Arab League will turn to the UN Security Council to declare a Palestinian state if proximity talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials fail to achieve progress by September, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit said Saturday. According to Egyptian news site Al-Masry Al-Youm, Abul Gheit said Arab countries should act while taking into consideration UNSC Resolution 1515, calling for the creation of a Palestinian state in coexistence with Israel, which the Arab League decision is based on”…

UNSC Resolution 1515 was adopted — unanimously — on 19 November 2003, and it endorses the Roadmap presented on 30 April 2003.

Resolution 1515 reaffirms “its vision of a region where two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders”. In its operative paragraphs, this resolution “Endorses the Quartet Performance-based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” and “Calls on the parties to their obligations under the Roadmap in cooperation with the Quartet and to achlieve the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security”. This resolution is published by the United Nations, and can be viewed by clicking on the link for Security Council Resolution at this web page here.

The Ma’an report added that “The Arab League endorsed the second round of US-brokered indirect talks with Israel in May, after they were initially derailed in March following Israel’s announcement that an illegal East Jerusalem settlement would be enlarged during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region. The body gave the talks a four-month deadline and has repeatedly called on Israel to abidoste by its various commitments with regard to occupied Palestinian and Syrian land, threatening to rethink the Arab Peace Initiative on several occasions. Last week, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said an emergency summit will be held in October”… This Ma’an story is posted here .

Netanyahu offers to come to … Ramallah

In public remarks after his meeting with U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell this evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu offered to come to Ramallah if the Palestinian side were ready for direct negotiations.

It would be a first.

Netanyahu told Mitchell, in front of the cameras: “I call on President Abu Mazen to come to Jerusalem. I’m prepared to go to Ramallah. I think that this is the only way that we’ll solve the intricate problems that we’re discussing between us”… This statement was sent around by email from the Israeli Government Press Office, part of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mitchell is currently conducting a fourth or fifth round indirect, or “proximity” talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

But Ramallah is Area A (a category dating from the Oslo Accords, designating where Palestinian Authority security forces have nominal control) — and Israelis are barred from entering Area A…

There are big red signs around the West Bank [ sometimes in the wrong places, actually, such as just after passing through Qalandia Checkpoint, on the way to Ramallah, where there are areas that are still legally Jerusalem by Israeli definition, such as Qafr Aqab and Semiramis, and that still must pay Jerusalem taxes, though they get virtually no services], warning Israelis — who can otherwise roam freely, say, to visit friends in the settlements — that they are approaching an Area A [usually a “built-up” Palestinian city — though even they can have parts which are classified Areas B or C — such as Abu Mazen’s house above Balloua…]

No Israeli can enter Area A without facing fines (5000 shekels, for endangering him/herself and the rescue services that would have to be called up if he/she calls for help or, G-d forbid, gets in trouble. There have been stories about people heading to weddings in the settlements who ended up in the middle of Qalandiya refugee camp while relying on their car’s Israeli GPS systems, which do not acknowledge either political reality or even the actual geography of the West Bank — in many areas of which the Israeli GPS simply goes blank…

Perhaps Netanyahu has been inspired by all the recent almost-irresistable media stories about cafes + malls + more in the “Tel Aviv” of the West Bank.

Meanwhile, there are still regular IDF and Border Police incursions in the West Bank — mainly at night, which is believed to be more protective to the Israeli forces on the prowl, but also during the day.

After midnight, but before dawn this morning, for example, the IDF arrested 8 “wanted” Palestinians overnight in the West Bank. The way the IDF spokespersons unit just described this on Twitter is: “Overnight, IDF forces arrested 8 wanted Palestinians suspected for terrorist activity in J + S [Judea + Samaria, meaning the West Bank] region”

These incursions happen at least several times a week, sometimes almost every night. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad have complained about this, publicly and reportedly privately as well, for months and more.

The atmosphere is … almost indescribable, especially to people used to feeling secure in their homes and in their beds, who will not really understand the tension and terror this sows.

Netanyahu offers to go to … Ramallah.  Why not?  Everybody is: two Haaretz journalists [not Amira Hass, who has lived in Ramallah for more than a decade, since 1997 as it happens] bylined a story published today, datelined Ramallah. Actually it was part of the outreach program of the new Palestinian Presidential media advisory team at the Muqata’a — six Israeli journalists were specially invited, given lunch, allowed to see the man close-up, and ask whatever questions they wanted for three hours.

One can only imagine the security arrangements [well beyond the usual IDF waiver form they would have been required to sign]…  But, then again, the IDF and Israeli security services have reportedly long been involved in coordination of all movements — and even escorting — of President Abbas and his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad around the West Bank. There is, after all, the great threat of the bitter enemy, “Islamic fundamentalism”…

Actually, some Israeli journalists, but more often some well-connected Israeli analysts, have been coming to Ramallah without any fanfare [for security reasons too, let’s not forget]. And not just from the Israeli “left”, which means not Marxists but those opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, but also from the right. One of the more active analysts from former Israeli diplomat Dore Gold’s Jerusalem Center for Policy Affairs told me in 2009 that he had been coming on a weekly basis for a while, and if I remember correctly he was being briefed in the Palestinian Civil Affairs office run by Fatah’s Hussein ash-Sheikh (in the same building, just a bit more than a stone’s throw from the Israeli “Civil Administration” and Military Court at Beit El, where Fatah’s Mohammed Dahlan now has the entire top floor for his own media outreach operation).

The Haaretz story, co-authored by Aluf Benn and Akiva Eldar, that is one of the products of this Palestinian media outreach invitation is published here.

In it, we learn, for example, that Abu Mazen noted, with mild reproach, that the head of Palestinian Television [who is also the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO], Yasser Abed Rabbo, invited Netanyahu for a PALestinian TV interview but got no response.

Perhaps Netanyahu is now ready to respond?

The Jerusalem Post’s report, which called this an “apparent charm offensive aimed at the Israeli public” is here, authored by Herb Keinon.

The JPost reported that Abbas “is willing to enter direct negotiations with the Netanyahu government, as soon as he hears from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu regarding Israel’s position on borders and security issues. Abbas, in the briefing with Israeli journalists Tuesday in Ramallah, said that originally he wanted to hear from Netanyahu whether he was willing to accept the understandings agreed upon by his predecessor, Ehud Olmert …

The JPost notes that “Abbas, who has come under pressure from the US to speak directly to the Israeli public, last spoke with the Israeli media when he gave an interview to Channel 2 at the end of April … When no answer from Netanyahu was forthcoming regarding the Olmert offer, Abbas said at Tuesday’s briefing, he sent a message through US envoy George Mitchell saying that he would suffice with an answer on only two of the issues: borders and security. ‘Answers like these are necessary to see if we are speaking the same language, and then it will be possible to continue. It is preferable that direct talks will not explode after 10 minutes, and then who knows when we will be able to renew negotiations again’, Abbas said.  Abbas said he would be willing to engage in direct negotiations with Netanyahu as soon as he received an answer”.

This apparently American-inspired Palestinian “charm offensive”, sullen though it may be at times, has been going on since the indirect or “proximity” talks presided by Mitchell have gotten well underway.

We may — or may not — be at a Sadat moment.

Abbas’ deputy as chief negotiator, Sa’eb Erekat, spoke to the INSS [Institute for National Security Studies] in Tel Aviv several weeks ago, and debated Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor in Washington more recently. In the same line, Abbas himself recently met with members of the American Jewish community in the U.S.

On all occasions, it is safe to say, the two Palestinians had considerably more rosy assessments of the encounters than did their more-distrustful Israeli counterparts.

On top of that, Abbas’ Prime Minister Fayyad is about to meet the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is the effective rule of the West Bank in the Israeli government and practice — supposedly to discuss “security” [even though there was an uproar when his er formEconomic Minister, Basim Khoury, caused a storm of criticism when he spoke to Silvan Shalom at a meeting in Tel Aviv — but that was before indirect talks began].

Fayyad is a legal permanent resident of [East] Jerusalem, of course — like the four elected Hamas-affiliated Palestinian parliamentarians who residency is about to be revoked [and they will be “deported”, unless a court intervenes].   But Fayyad is not affiliated with Hamas.  So, he could easily meet Barak in either East or West Jerusalem, or anywhere in Israel.  Alternatively, Barak could easily make arrangements to show up somewhere in Ramallah [though no doubt with a huge and very obtrusive security escort], and take in all the supposedly glittery sights…

East Jerusalem parliamentarian arrested, facing "deportation"

Facing possible “deportation” — whatever that means in the circumstances — from East Jerusalem, Mohammad Abu Tir, a Hamas-affiliated politician elected in January 2006 to the Palestine Legislative Council (PLC), was arrested this afternoon in Jerusalem (where he is not supposed to be, any more) reportedly by undercover Israeli police disguised as Palestinians, and taken to the Russian Compound in West Jerusalem, where —  if he’s lucky —  he may have a court hearing tomorrow.

A month ago, he was released from jail after serving more than four years, basically for having been elected to the local Palestinian parliament on the Hamas-backed Change and Reform Party ticket.

YNet reported tonight that “During a Shin Bet interrogation just hours after his release, Abu-Tir was told he had to leave his hometown Jerusalem within a month (by June 19).  ‘I don’t know what to say, this is an injustice which reflects an attempt at extortion’, Abu-Tir said to Ynet at the time. ‘They told me I must remain in my village (Umm Tuba) and never go to the city. I don’t know the reason for this’.”

Instead, Ynet reported, “Palestinian sources said Abu-Tir was arrested as he left his village, and that among those who arrested him were undercover officers disguised as Arabs. His family was unable to define the area forbidden to Abu-Tir, who holds the second slot on Hamas’ party list”.   This YNet report is published here.

The “deportation” order dates back to before his arrest in the spring of 2006. Last month, Abu Tir and three other Hamas-affiliated elected members of the PLC were ordered to surrender their Jerusalem residency cards to the Israeli police.

Maybe if he had stayed at home, in his village, he would have been left alone?

If he is brought before a court on Thursday, maybe he will at least be able to get clarification of where he’s allowed to be — and where he is banned.

Continue reading East Jerusalem parliamentarian arrested, facing "deportation"

What will Palestinians do now? U.S. reportedly accepted Israel's position…

According to a report compiled by three senior Haaretz correspondents (Barak Ravid, Akiva Eldar, Avi Issacharoff) published today, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who met with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah yesterday after two days of talks in Israel, “told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during talks this week that the understandings reached following the 2007 Annapolis Conference are non-binding in the current round of negotiations, Haaretz has learned.

Continue reading What will Palestinians do now? U.S. reportedly accepted Israel's position…

Glossing over the differences? Palestinian official says: "We are here to negotiate to obtain our freedom … We don't know what Israel really wants"

The U.S. State Department has just released the following statement in the name of U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell: “I’m pleased that the Israeli and Palestinian leadership have accepted indirect talks. We’ve begun to discuss the structure and scope of these talks and I will return to the region next week to continue our discussions. As we’ve said many times, we hope that these will lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible. We also again encourage the parties, and all concerned, to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks”.

This suggests that Mitchell is leaving — and will not participate in a second meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) on Wednesday, when U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to pay a visit to the Muqata’a presidential compound in Ramallah, after 36 hours of talking in Israel — about Iran.

What happened today? Mitchell was in the Muqata’a in Ramallah, meeting President Abbas and Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa’eb Erekat — who are the two people who are now charged with any negotiations, according to one informed Palestinian official. Mitchell’s aide David Hale was apparently also present. The meeting lasted approximately three hours.

UPDATE: Palestinian Television news at 9pm tonight showed an initial meeting between Mitchell and Abbas with four aides on each side — on the Palestinian side: Yasser Abed Rabbo, Saeb Erekat, Mr. X (unidentified), and Nabil Rudeineh; and on the American side: U.S. Consul-General in Jerusalem Danny Rubenstein, Mr. X, Ms. X, and Mr. X.

[Haaretz carried a story that earlier reported: ” ‘Today President Abbas will hand a written response to Senator Mitchell about our acceptance of the proposal of the proximity talks’, Erekat told Reuters”. This Haaretz report is posted here.]

This journalist was told this evening that Abu Mazen gave Mitchell a “letter”: “I cannot elaborate, but it contains the terms of reference [for the negotiations] that we Palestinians believe are right”, the informed Palestinian official said. “The P.L.O. gave President Abbas a mandate. We are still waiting for the American response”.

The Palestinian official said that at this point, there are not either “proximity talks” or “negotiations” — but instead “just setting the terms of reference for the negotiations”.

“We are here to negotiate to obtain our freedom. If this turns out to be just an attempt to make a good PR [public relations] campaign for Mr. Netanyahu, then of course we are not willing to do simply that”.

This Palestinian official added that “this is the problem we have with the Americans — they are speaking about ‘relaunching’ these negotiations, while we want to ‘resume’ negotiations at the point they ended on 27 December 2008 [the day Israel launched an unprecedented three-week military operation against Hamas in Gaza]. But Israel doesn’t want to do that”.

According to this Palestinian official, maps were “shown” during the Annapolis process of negotiations in 2008. But, he said, the Israeli interlocutors “refused to hand over any maps or any papers”.

So, he said, “based on some references, we know what parts of the West Bank Israel would like to keep, but we don’t know what Israel really wants”.

He said each side made an offer during the Annapolis process. The Palestinians, he said, “gave an offer to exchange [or swap] 1.9 percent of the West Bank. We also showed this to the Americans and gave them a map”.

The Israelis, he said, indicated they “had an idea of swapping 6.5 percent of the land”.

So, he said, it should be expected that “any solution that comes out of negotiations would be between these two figures”.

However, he said, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who was asked to form the present government after Israeli elections in February 2009, may intend to ask for 20 percent or more: “He has said he wants to keep the Jordan Valley — this means that Israel intends to control our borders. He has said that he wants all of Jerusalem — we cannot give up East Jerusalem. And he has said he will keep [the West Bank Jewish settlement of] Ariel — which sits on the western aquifer that contains 85 percent of the water used in the West Bank, and we cannot play with our water sources”.

What will happen now? “I’m not 100 percent sure”, the Palestinian official said. “We Palestinians are not willing to accept another round of failed negotiations”. He noted that the situation is now “very tense”, and recalled that Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa’eb Erekat said earlier today that this is “the last chance for a peaceful solution”. [See the Haaretz story linked above, here: “Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that
the indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians would be a last chance to keep the Middle East peace process alive. ‘The relationship has deteriorated to this stage where the U.S. is trying to save this peace process with the last attempt – by the way, mark my words – this will be the last attempt in order to see if it can be a tool to make decisions between Palestinians and Israelis’, he told Army Radio”.

Ali Waked, writing in YNet, spoke to Erekat himself after the meeting with Mitchell and reported that Erekat said “the Palestinians made it clear to Mitchell that if the Israelis increase the settlements, raids of cities and assassinations during each of his visits to the region, this casts a serious doubt over the American peace efforts.” Waked also wrote that “The remark was made as the United States released an official statement saying that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to launch indirect talks mediated by Mitchell … The Palestinians have agreed to resume the negotiations indirectly in principle, but have asked Mitchell for several clarifications and demanded that Israel stop embarrassing the Palestinian Authority with announcements on new construction plans in the West Bank. Erekat said that the settlement issue was the focus of Abbas and Mitchell’s meeting, which lasted about five hours. During the meeting, the Palestinian president expressed his resentment over the Israeli declaration on 112 new housing units slated to be built in the settlement of Beitar Illit. Defense Ministry officials say the discussed plan was approved by the Olmert government. A Palestinian source told Ynet that the Palestinians were discouraged by the inefficiency of the talks and that the American pressure on Israel has led to nothing so far. He said that the Palestinians estimate that the negotiations are only damaging the Palestinian leadership’s reliability”… This Ali Waked report in YNet is published here.

Laura Rozen wrote an assessment, Parsing the Mitchell statement, published on Politico.com here, reporting that “Middle East Peace Envoy George Mitchell issued a statement from Israel today which on its face seemed a quiet victory wave on achieving agreement for Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks over the weekend. But a former Israeli official reading the statement interprets it differently, to suggest they haven’t agreed on what they are going to be talking about indirectly … ‘The text indicates that he will NOT announce anything while Biden is here’, the former Israeli official interprets. ‘There will be a generic statement on the sides’s ‘willingness’ to participate in ‘indirect talks’ but nothing on terms of reference, [specific] issues etc.’, the former Israeli official interpreted”.

Haaretz later reported that “It was unclear, however, whether the indirect talks had already begun. [U.S. State Department spokesman P.J.] Crowley told reporters he thought they had. ‘I believe they have started’, Crowley said. ‘I think they are underway’. Pressed on whether he was sure the indirect talks had begun, Crowley said: ‘I am certain’.” This Haaretz report is posted here.

Is Tony Blair being upgraded or downgraded in role as Quartet Middle East representative?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington today that: “I spoke today with Quartet Representative Blair to discuss developments in the Middle East. This Administration has, from the beginning, worked to bring about comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On that issue our approach has been three-fold: (1) to help build the economy and capacity to govern of a Palestinian state; (2) to renew political negotiations to enable the earliest possible establishment of that state; and (3) to achieve these in a manner that ensures the security of Israel and of the Palestinians. Consistent with Prime Minister Fayyad’s plan for a future Palestinian state, Tony Blair, as the Quartet representative, will intensify his partnership with Senator Mitchell in support of the political negotiations. In his role as Quartet Representative Tony Blair will continue, with full support by and coordination with Senator Mitchell, to mobilize the efforts of the international community: (1) to build support for the institutional capacity and governance of a future Palestinian State, including on the rule of law; (2) to improve freedom of movement and access for Palestinians; (3) to encourage further private sector investment; and (4) to bring change in the living conditions of the people in Gaza”.

Meanwhile, Mitchell visits Abu Mazen in Ramallah

This is technological innovation, which we would wish to encourage — adopted by a new team of media advisers working for the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah — showing (on Youtube!) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) receiving U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell not very long ago in the Muqata’a presidential headquarters in Ramallah:

Now that my iffy satellite receiver is working again, I can report that Palestinian television is running cartoons. (The Mitchell visit was, however, at the top of an earlier news bulletin…)

It would be great if we could only get some real information — in English, please — of what actually happened in the meeting…

Continue reading Meanwhile, Mitchell visits Abu Mazen in Ramallah