"the Palestinian president agreed to resume peace talks under intense international pressure, and because he worried that Obama was beginning to see him as the problem.... the message was sent by Europeans and others that ‘you might be losing the president.’"
Well, if that is the way Israel sees him....
"Stakes are high in Mideast peace talks; Obama will have key peace-seeking role" by Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | August 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — The United States will host the launch of direct peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington early next month, a diplomatic breakthrough for the Obama administration, which has invested much of the president’s global political capital in an attempt to broker peace in the Middle East.
The talks announced yesterday are aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state and ending the decades-old conflict. But they face steep resistance among some in the region and could produce more violence in the short term, especially if they collapse, as previous efforts have....
President Obama will play a high-profile role that will cast him as a potential international peace maker at the start of the negotiations, which are supposed to conclude within one year.
Prophecy slipping into place?
Of course, that guy was supposed to serve seven years then leave (September 2001 to September 2008) with everything in place for the next guy.
The plan calls for Obama to meet separately in Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, on Sept 1. That evening, the president will host a White House dinner that is expected to be attended by Netanyahu and Abbas, as well as King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, whose countries have peace deals with Israel.
The next day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special Middle East envoy George Mitchell will sit down with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the State Department to sketch out a framework for future meetings, and the sequence in which the parties will tackle contentious issues that have divided them for decades. Those issues include defining Israel’s borders, the rights of Palestinians to return to Israel, and the status of East Jerusalem.
Israelis and Palestinians will negotiate with one another directly, said Mitchell, but US officials will stand ready to provide ideas for potential compromises if the two sides reach an impasse. “We will be active participants,’’ he said.
So WHAT TOOK SO LONG?
The extent of Obama’s personal involvement moving forward is an open question, counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, who is on Martha’s Vineyard with Obama, told reporters yesterday. But he left no doubt of the president’s optimism....
Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University. But he said Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world, including his statement in support of a mosque near ground zero, positions him to be seen as “a fairly decent broker’’ in the Middle East....
Related: Muslim Obama Celebrates 9/11 Mosque
Israel can't be liking that!
President George W. Bush's talks broke down in 2008 as Israel was on the verge of a major military operation in Gaza....
Abbas faces adamant political rivals who have attacked him for negotiating with Israel. Yesterday, Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, called the talks a “new attempt to deceive the Palestinian people and international public opinion.’’
Gaith Al-Omari, advocacy director of the American Task Force on Palestine who is a former aide to Abbas, said that the Palestinian president agreed to resume peace talks under intense international pressure, and because he worried that as the Obama was beginning to see him problem.
“There was a recognition that inevitably, he was going to have to come back to the table, and the longer he waited, he would lose more diplomatic credibility,’’ Omari said. “He was worried about losing Obama. There was no pressure from Obama himself, but the message was sent by Europeans and others that ‘you might be losing the president.’ ’’
************
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee — the largest pro-Israel lobby — issued a statement welcoming the talks, but said: “For talks to succeed the PA must match Israel’s commitment to conducting peace talks without preconditions or excuses.’’
As the Israelis SET PRECONDITIONS!
Now THAT is CHUTZPAH!
Even if the leaders reach a peace agreement, it will be difficult to persuade all factions to accept it. Israel’s most entrenched settlers believe they have a religious right to land in the West Bank, while Hamas continues to lay claim to Israel.
Yeah, the Zany Zionist Zettlers!
Hamas will have no role in the talks, Mitchell said.
Then this is all a lot of hot air to repair USrael's image!
But when asked why this effort had any hope of success, Mitchell brought up the lessons of Northern Ireland.
“We had 700 days of failure, and one day of success,’’ he said.
The odds should NOT BE that LONG!
And about those PRECONDITIONS!
"Netanyahu sets his starting point on peace talks" by Josef Federman, Associated Press | August 23, 2010
JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister demanded yesterday that any future Palestinian state be demilitarized and recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, as he staked out his starting position for new Mideast peace talks....
But they are NOT PRECONDITIONS, readers!
There must be a subtle and unsubstantial difference, yet I know not what it is.
So WHEN is ISRAEL going to DEMILITARIZE?
Netanyahu said any future Palestinian state would not be allowed to have an army and would have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Complete disarmament and recognize the supremacist state.
Not a good starting point.
It would also have to accept other Israeli security demands....
Yeah, ONLY Palestinians can NOT HAVE PRECONDITIONS!
The NaZionist Jew here can throw out as many roadblocks (pun intended) as possible.
Netanyahu pointedly insisted that there be no preconditions....
Can he smell the PILE of HYPOCRITICAL SHIT he leaves behind, or is he just insanely self-deluded?
Expectations are low all around. Israeli and Palestinian newspapers greeted news of the new talks with pessimism yesterday, and one leading Israeli newspaper, Maariv, buried its report on page 10.
Look at the agenda-pushing AmeriKan MSM pot hollering kettle!!
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
--more--"
Actually, it is an easy choice and one they have been making for 60+ years now.
Update:
"Dozens disrupt Palestinian protest of peace talks" by Mohammed Daraghmeh, Associated Press | August 26, 2010
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Dozens of men believed to be plainclothes Palestinian security personnel broke up a gathering of activists opposed to new Mideast peace talks yesterday, reflecting the Palestinian leadership’s sense of vulnerability as it prepares to launch negotiations with Israel next week.
President Mahmoud Abbas has come under widespread criticism at home. He’s accused of caving in to US pressure to join the negotiations....
If the accusation fits....
In Ramallah, about 200 activists from various opposition groups had gathered in a meeting hall to issue a declaration opposing the peace talks when dozens of young men in the audience stood up, hoisted posters of Abbas, and shouted slogans in support of the Palestinian leader....
One of the organizers, independent lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti, and activists from other factions said the young age of the men, the well-organized nature of the protest, and the fact that uniformed police officers were waiting outside to question activists showed that the men were security officers....
One human rights group, Al-Haq, said, “Today’s incident is a further example of the increasing climate of violence and intimidation that is effectively transforming Palestinian society into a police state,’’ the group said.
The West Bank and PA is becoming more like Israel everyday!
Abbas is under fire from many Palestinians for agreeing to speak directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, especially without winning a complete halt to Israeli settlement construction.
Many Palestinians fear that the Americans are biased toward Israel and that Abbas will come away from the negotiations empty-handed....
A well-justified "fear."
