 |
| Israelis left-wing protestors sign a petition to announce their support for the declaration of a Palestinian state in boundaries based on 1967 borders, on April 21, 2011, in Tel Aviv, outside the house where Israel's declaration of independence was first read and signed by its first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. – AFP Photo |
UNITED NATIONS: US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to revive the Middle East peace process in coming weeks, diplomats said Thursday as the nations boost calls for Palestinians to return to direct talks.
Pressure has mounted on both leaders amid heightened Palestinian-Israeli hostilities, a US block on European attempts to break the deadlock through the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East, and new Palestinian efforts to win international recognition.
A senior US official said Obama will soon make a public intervention.
“We expect that in a couple of weeks the president will have an opportunity to talk in more depth about the Middle East and North Africa,” the official said ahead of a UN Security Council debate Thursday on the Middle East.
At the meeting, US ambassador Susan Rice reinforced US calls for the Palestinian leadership to return to direct talks, frozen since last September amid recriminations over Israeli settlement building.
“Negotiations between the parties remain the only path to a solution that resolves all issues and establishes a sovereign state of Palestine alongside a secure state of Israel,” Rice told the Security Council, without mentioning Obama’s plans.
Netanyahu is to outline his bid to tempt the Palestinians back to talks during a visit to the United States in May. The US Republican party leadership has invited the Israeli prime minister to address a joint meeting of the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Israel’s ambassador Meron Reuben insisted there could only be peace through face-to-face talks.
“It cannot be imposed from the outside,” Reuben said. “And any lasting peace agreement must be built on the core principles of mutual recognition and security.” Obama last year set a target of September 2011 for an accord to set up a Palestinian state. But talks between the rivals ended within weeks after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on settlements.
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution in February which would have condemned Israel’s settlements.
It also frustrated a plan by Britain, France and Germany to get the diplomatic Quartet — the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations — to set out the parameters for a peace accord, including setting out frontiers.
The Europeans had hoped a Quartet statement would tempt the Palestinians back to talks. But the United States blocked a meeting planned for Berlin on April 15.
“Risks are growing and chances are dwindling,” Germany’s UN ambassador Peter Wittig told the Security Council, hinting at the European frustration.
“We must overcome the deadlock and re-establish a credible political process — well in advance of September deadlines, otherwise we might face serious consequences.” Amid the diplomatic standoff, increased rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza and couter-attacks by the Israeli military have only been halted with an uneasy and unofficial truce.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called for “bold leadership, including by the United States, bearing in mind the role it has assumed in the peace process.”
Mansour said that US backing for setting out the conditions for a peace accord would “seriously contribute to revival of the political process.” If the peace efforts remain deadlocked, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said he will in September seek recognition at the UN General Assembly for an independent state.
Though a largely symbolic measure, the move would set off more diplomatic tensions with the United States again strongly opposed to the move.
