The Obama administration is planning to intensify its engagement in the Peace Process by taking an active role in resuming negotiations and mobilizing regional support for its efforts.
Despite the “different set of priorities and urgencies” that encompassed US President Barack Obama’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Monday, according to Tamara Cofman Wittes from the Brookings Institution, Washington is setting the pace for a more active role in the coming months. Disagreements loomed large between the two leaders as Netanyahu avoided a commitment to a settlement freeze, and a two-state solution, whereas Obama refused to place a binding timeframe on the U.S. diplomatic efforts towards Iran, and rejected the “Iran first” option advocated by Israel. The U.S. President instead emphasized that “if there is a linkage between Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,” it is that “if we can achieve peace … then it strengthens our hand in the international community in dealing with a potential Iranian threat.”
Albeit those differences, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Al-Hayat in her press conference at the Foreign Press Center last Tuesday, that the administration is “at the beginning of what will be an intensive period” of engagement in the Peace Process, and pointed to the degree of commitment from Washington to resolve the conflict by appointing Senator George Mitchell as an Envoy to the region on Obama’s second day in office, and later on with the several meetings that the administration has held with the parties involved. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to arrive in Washington this Wednesday, while Obama will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in two weeks and during his upcoming visit to Cairo.
The degree of involvement from this administration in its first five months is “more than what the George W Bush administration has done in seven years” according to Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to both Egypt and Israel. Kurtzer, who is currently a professor of Mideast policy at Princeton University and was a prominent advisor for President Obama during the campaign, asserts that Obama “understands the need for serious and sustained U.S. engagement” to achieve a two-state solution, and hints at the deep discussions that involved Netanyahu’s meetings at the White House. While the initial schedule for the meetings was for two hours, the two delegations met for over four hours on Monday.
The scope of engagement is clear in Mitchell’s itineraries. The envoy has so far completed three “listening tours” to the region, which included besides Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories, countries in the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar) and North Africa (Morocco, and Tunisia). A State Department official affirms that the high level envoy will visit “at one point” Lebanon and Syria. Wittes reads Mitchell’s broad outreach, as a desire from the administration to see a larger regional role in promoting the Peace Process. The administration has repeatedly called on Arab countries “to be more supportive and be bolder in seeking potential normalization with Israel”, in return for Tel Aviv meeting its obligations on Settlements and dismantling outposts.
While both Kurtzer and Wittes do not advise for a US initiative or peace plan at this early stage of involvement, restarting negotiations is something that the administration is showing increased interest in recently. A State department official tells Al-Hayat that Obama “is committed to restarting serious negotiations on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians.” This comes as Netanyahu announced Wednesday his readiness to resume negotiations “immediately” and without “preconditions” with both the Palestinian Authority and the Syrian government.
Wittes doesn’t exclude a breakthrough in the Peace efforts even with Netanyahu as the Israeli partner. She expects “more intense pressure coming from the US on the Israeli government” especially on the issue of Settlement freeze. The U.S. official makes it clear that “settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward”, adding “it is a difficult issue, but it is an important one that has to be addressed”. While Netanyahu has made no commitments on this issue, Wittes asserts that “it is not impossible to see” the Likud leader implementing a “settlement freeze”. She adds: “the one thing we know about Bibi Netanyahu is that he is not an ideologue” and “is not committed to a Greater Israel from the river to the sea on ideological ground”.
The expert who is also the director of the Middle East Democracy and Development Project, points to Netanyahu’s previous actions during his previous term as Prime Minister (1996-1999). Specifically, to the Hebron Accord that he signed with former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat “after having promised not to shake his hand”. The accord called for redeployment of Israeli troops from the city and some areas in the West Bank.
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