The United States special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is expected back in the region next week to try once again to advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
Israel dispatched its senior negotiators to Washington on Monday for consultations with members of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Back in Jerusalem, senior Israeli government ministers met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night to consider their formal response to a series of pointed questions from Obama.
In particular, the president is understood to want to know Israel's position when it comes to construction in Jerusalem.
This follows the embarrassment of U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden a month ago. While Biden was in Jerusalem, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced the interim approval of a 1,600-unit construction plan for a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
The Israeli cabinet hopes to submit its answers to a reported 11 questions from Obama by the time Mitchell visits Jerusalem. If those answers are satisfactory, the White House hopes indirect or proximity talks can begin at once.
However, there are increasing signs that the two sides are not likely to reach an agreement and push forward promising Israeli- Palestinian negotiations.
OBAMA PRESSURE
The American president wants to see the start of those indirect talks immediately. He made this very clear when he met Jordanian King Abdullah II in Washington on Monday. The leaders see eye to eye on what needs to be done and what should be avoided.
"Both agreed that Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks should begin as soon as possible, and transit quickly to direct negotiations. They also agreed that both sides should refrain from actions that undermine trust during these talks," read a statement from the White House after their parley.
Over and above the call for the early commencement of talks, this statement contains messages both positive and negative for Israel.
The idea of moving quickly to direct negotiations fits in with Israeli demands. They do not want the core issues to be discussed at the initial stage but rather be saved for face-to-face negotiations. The Palestinians want to get down to brass tacks from the kickoff.
On the other hand, the comment about "undermining trust" is a diplomatic way of telling Israel that Washington and Amman disapprove of any Jewish construction work going ahead in East Jerusalem.
This approach from Obama is misguided at the very least, according to Pinhas Inbari, senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Jerusalem is the last thing with which Obama should be pressuring the Netanyahu government, he said on Tuesday.
As recently as late 2008, when Ehud Olmert was Israeli prime minister, the parties had more or less reached agreement on the subject of borders. Instead of pushing the highly controversial issue of Jerusalem from the beginning, Obama would be far better advised to begin with an area in which there is more or less agreement, Inbari suggested.
"When they first talked about proximity talks, it looked as though borders would be on the agenda. This I could understand because the positions of the parties were close enough for mediation and there was a chance of agreement," said Inbari, " suddenly they're talking about Jerusalem at Obama's initiative."
BROADER PROBLEM
This is all part of the broader troubles in current U.S.- Israeli relations, said Oded Eran, the director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
At the moment, the parties are only playing a "tactical" game, said Eran, who headed Israel's negotiating team in talks with the Palestinians in the run up to the Camp David Summit in 2000.
"This all ties in to the broader strategic issues of the creation of a Palestinian state and the way in which both the U.S. and the international community are dealing with Iran," he said.
Both of these key areas are currently frozen. So the push is coming in terms of the American tactic of trying to get the Israelis and Palestinians communicating again, even if it is via proximity talks. However, getting the sides talking once more is not the end of the story by any means, added Eran.
"Even if this immediate problem is resolved, down the road there will be the significant issues of Jerusalem, borders and refugees. With regards to Jerusalem and the borders it's clear there are differences between us and the U.S. and that will all come to light as soon as those issues come up," he said.
Eran, who was also a former ambassador to Jordan, said the Obama team must realize they cannot change the political reality in Israel. In all likelihood, there will be a right of center government in office throughout Obama's first term and that presents a certain reality.
From Inbari's point of view, as long as Jerusalem is in center stage it does not matter what else happens, there will be no deal, because Netanyahu simply will not tolerate compromise.
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