settlements

US attempts to assuage Palestinian concerns

Laura Rozen reported yesterday on a shift in the U.S. administration's statements on movements on the Israeli and Palestinian fronts toward renewing the peace process. She quotes Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns as saying:

To Freeze or not to Freeze

President Obama’s moves on Israeli settlements seem a bit puzzling. For much of the year, the United States was pressing for a freeze. Then it seemed to let up a bit. At the United Nations on September 23, 2009, Obama called on the Palestinians “to end incitement against Israel.” But he did not call on Israel to freeze or end settlement expansion.

An Israeli View: From settlement freeze to baby steps

The Obama administration tried to jump start the Israel-Arab peace process and inject new energy into additional areas of US activity in the Middle East by instituting a settlement freeze in the West Bank. Regardless of the words Obama's people have chosen to soften the impact, this initiative has failed. The immediate fallout is the apparent resignation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and an inability to get final status negotiations moving again.

A Palestinian View: Settlement construction contradicts negotiations

The issues of Israeli settlement activity and the need for a settlement construction freeze are again at the top of the political agenda.

Clinton clarifies settlement stance

In the final stop on her visit to the Middle East and Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday. After commenting on her statement in Jerusalem over the weekend that the U.S. considered Israel's movement on settlements "unprecedented," she assured Arab leaders that the Obama administration is not reneging on demands to halt settlement building.

The Prospect for a Breakthrough

Although the Obama administration's efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have not, as yet, produced tangible results, the prospect for a breakthrough in negotiations may be closer today than it has been in many years. Notwithstanding the inherent skepticism about the prospect of real progress, the conversion of certain regional and international developments have altered the political dynamic and created a new set of opportunities for a negotiated settlement.

An Israeli View: Three corridors

When it comes to Arab-Israel matters, the Obama administration seems to be shooting too high. Much like the initial insistence on a "complete and absolute" settlement freeze, so the targeting of a permanent status agreement in one fell swoop turns the best into the enemy of the good.

A Palestinian View: Reviving the peace process?

In the run-up to the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly and the Quartet later this month in New York, the region is witnessing feverish diplomatic activity.

George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, is holding meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, popped down to Cairo for talks with Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has just concluded a tour of several Arab countries.

An Israeli View: Here we go again

Here we go again. Assuming Israel and the US can overcome last-minute obstacles, two weak and problematic leaders from Jerusalem and Ramallah will soon be ushered into yet another renewed peace process by the United States.

Mitchell and Netanyahu meet on settlement freeze

Earlier today, Special Envoy George Mitchell and Prime Minister Netanyahu met in Jerusalem to attempt to reach a compromise on settlement construction in the West Bank. The Palestinians have demanded a complete settlement freeze as a precondition to peace negotiations.  Since no compromise was reached this morning, Mitchell will meet with Netanyahu again on Thursday to continue the discussion. Mitchell will then travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Ha'aretz reports: