U.S. Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell was going through the motions in the West Bank on Tuesday — venturing just a little further afield that most senior U.S. officials who generally don’t go further than Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jericho (Mitchell visited a dairy plant in Hebron) — before heading to the Muqata’a Presidential compound in Ramallah for the obligatory talks.
Akiva Eldar reported in Haaretz on Tuesday night that “During his separate talks with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Mitchell apparently shifted the focus of discussion toward core issues. He had been expected make clear to Netanyahu that the Obama administration wanted him to take a clear stance on these issues, with an emphasis on borders”.
It is more than a little surprising that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week, in an address to the Saban Forum, that the U.S. wanted Israel to indicate the borders it wanted. [Did she mean only as an opening negotiating position, or could she have meant that Israel can decide on the borders???]
Eldar’s story in Haaretz also reported that “Abbas said he was upset that Mitchell insisted that border negotiations won’t necessarily be based on 1967 lines, a term former [Israeli] prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert committed to in the past”
At the UN in New York today, the UN’s Special Coordinator Robert Serry told the UN Security Council, however, that “in New York on 10 December, Quartet envoys met with US Envoy Mitchell in advance of his trip to the region, and US Secretary of State Clinton gave a speech in Washington on the same day. The need to shift strategy is evident. We understand that the US will now engage both sides in indirect talks on all the final status issues and the Secretary-General expects the parties to engage seriously. We also note that the United States intends to be a proactive participant offering ideas and bridging proposals when appropriate. We believe it is clear that a substantive third party role in mediation is now required. The goal must be a two State solution based on an end to the 1967 occupation and a resolution of all core issues … We expect close consultation within the Quartet on the effort in the period ahead. Quartet envoys are preparing a meeting of Quartet Principals which we expect to take place soon in the new year … Yesterday, the EU Council of Ministers reiterated its readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state”“.
When appropriate…
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