Stark differences between U.S. and Israeli policy toward peace talks with the Palestinians emerged clearly Thursday in the first meetings between President Obama's Middle East envoy and top leaders of the new Israeli government.
Former senator George J. Mitchell emphasized that the U.S. administration is aiming for creation of a Palestinian state. But the Israelis avoided mention of Palestinian statehood, and the new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said past Israeli concessions had led to violence, not peace.
Mitchell met Thursday evening with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. An official in Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader expressed misgivings about creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank out of concern that the radical Islamist Hamas group could take it over, as it overran the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Netanyahu also demanded that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a step they have refused to take, the officials said.
The prime minister has yet to unveil his policy on peace efforts but has spoken of shifting the emphasis to stimulating the Palestinian economy instead of supporting the process accepted by the United States and Israel up to now -- direct negotiations toward a full peace treaty between the two states.
Mitchell is scheduled to meet Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government controls only the West Bank.
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