Via Silver Lining
Posted on March 17, 2010 by realistic bird
by Hasan Idelbi
Al Manar
17/03/2010 Israeli daily Haaretz said in its Wednesday’s editorial that the cancellation of the visit by American envoy George Mitchell, who has been delegated to renew the diplomatic negotiations, embodies the slippery slope facing Israel during the past week.
“Even before completing the first year of his second term in office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to foment crises in two key strategic areas: the peace process with the Palestinians and relations with the United States,” Haaretz added.
The affair of the building plans for 1,600 new homes for Israeli settlers in occupied east Jerusalem, the mainly Arab half of the Holy City which was annexed after a war in 1967, which cast a pall on U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visited, pushed back the two-state solution. At the same time, the unnecessary snub of a friendly guest became a deep rift in the dialogue between the Israeli government and the White House.
In order to rescue the proximity talks and resolve the crisis in relations with the United States, the Obama administration has made three demands of Netanyahu: cancelling the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee’s decision to approve for presentation building plans for Ramat Shlomo, a “significant” gesture to the Palestinians and a public statement that the indirect talks will deal with all the core issues, including Jerusalem.
Obviously, the United States expects Israel to maintain the status quo in East Jerusalem and refrain from establishing new facts on this sensitive ground.
Instead of fanning the flames with irresponsible declarations about the continuation of construction in occupied East Jerusalem, the prime minister would do well to say yes to the American demands. Stagnation in the diplomatic process, in the shadow of a deepening crisis with our greatest ally, is a strategic threat Israel can by no means afford.
Netanyahu is widely expected to agree to parts of these demands, but not all of them. A likely scenario is that he would make an announcement that there would be no more “surprises” like the one that greeted Biden last week, and that Israel would agree that all the core issues be discussed in the proximity talks.
Meanwhile, officials said that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will talk soon with Netanyahu in an effort to ease the bitter diplomatic feud with the two staunch allies.
Officials said the call could come as early as Wednesday, as the Obama administration awaits Netanyahu’s response to its complaints over Israeli settlement policy.
But in a possible sign it wants to stop the row widening, the administration also termed the dispute a disagreement between friends that would not shatter their “unbreakable bond”.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters he expected a conversation “very soon” between Clinton and Netanyahu.
Earlier, Clinton said Washington was engaged in “very active consultation” with the Israelis over steps that would demonstrate the requisite commitment to reviving peace talks.
Asked whether ties had plunged to a 35-year-low, she answered “I don’t buy that.” “We have an absolute commitment to Israel’s security. We have a close, unshakable bond between the United States and Israel and between the American and Israeli people.”
The Israelis appeared keen to portray Washington’s tone at least as a temporary suspension of hostilities. “The State of Israel appreciates and cherishes the warm words from Secretary of State Clinton on the deep ties between the US and Israel and the US commitment to Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s office said.
On Friday, Clinton told Netanyahu by telephone that the Israeli announcement on the homes last week was a “deeply negative signal.”
The State Department announced that US envoy George Mitchell, who had been due to visit Israel, would not do so before a meeting of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet in Moscow on Thursday.
Crowley insisted the move was a mere logistical issue rather than a swipe at Netanyahu, who has apologized for the timing of the settler announcement but has not agreed to halt the construction.
Uprooted Palestinian
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