Palestinians: State Within 2 Years With Obama’s Support
Following meeting with Mitchell in Ramallah, senior Palestinian officials say US committed to peace deal within two years. According to them, former President Bill Clinton’s plan again put on table
US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his meeting with the American statesman Tuesday told Ynet that the US commitment to reach a peace deal within two years was clarified during the meeting.
The Palestinians estimate the Americans are adopting de facto the plan presented by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayya
Barak Urges Netanyahu To Accept Palestinian State
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the principle of a Palestinian state.
“The current government was formed with the commitment to respect the deals reached by preceding governments,” Barak told public radio, ahead of a speech by Netanyahu on Sunday to lay down his peace policies.
These include “the roadmap which clearly states that the conflict must be resolved on the principle of two states for two peoples,” said the head of centre-left Labour party, the most moderate member of Netanyahu’s otherwise right-leaning cabinet.
“If such a solution fails, there will be only one political entity from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean — the state of Israel.
“Under such a scenario, if the Palestinians have the right to vote, it will no longer be a Jewish state, but a bi-national state. And if they don’t have the right to vote, it will be an apartheid regime,” said the former premier.
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The hawkish Netanyahu, who is due to present his government’s peace policy on Sunday, has yet to publicly embrace the creation of a Palestinian state, the cornerstone of international peace efforts.
The Israeli press has been filled with speculation in recent days that Netanyahu may finally do so in his speech.
US President Barack Obama’s administration has been pressing Israel to commit to the two-state principle and to halt all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank
Pope in Israel Calls for Palestinian State
Pope Benedict XVI called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian homeland immediately after he arrived in Israel Monday, a stance that could put him at odds with his hosts on a trip aimed at improving ties between the Vatican and Jews.
The pope also took on the delicate issue of the Holocaust, pledging to “honor the memory” of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide at the start of his five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Benedict touched down in Israel on the second leg of a weeklong pilgrimage to the Holy Land, after spending three days in neighboring Jordan. He is using the tour to reach out to both Muslims and Jews.
In his first public comments upon arriving, Benedict urged Israelis and Palestinians to “explore every possible avenue” to resolve their differences.
“The hopes of countless men, women and children for a more secure and stable future depend on the outcome of negotiations for peace,” he told a welcoming ceremony at Israel’s international airport. “In union with people of goodwill everywhere, I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own within secure and internationally recognized borders.”
Obama Pledges State to Palestinian Leader – WND
President-elect Barack Obama today phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to work to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible, a senior PA negotiator told WND.
“Obama expressed his full support for a Palestinian state. He told the president (Abbas) he will continue to promote the peace process, which will end with a two-state solution,” said the PA’s second most senior negotiator, Saeb Erekat.
“Obama said he will keep working in collaboration with the Israeli government and PA to reach a final solution. He said he’ll do everything in his power to help create a Palestinian state as soon as we can,” Erekat told WND.
It was the first phone call between Abbas and Obama, Erekat added.
Obama’s transition spokesman Nick Shapiro did not immediately return a WND e-mail and phone request seeking comment.
The call comes two weeks after a reported flair-up on Election Day in which a senior Palestinian official told WND the Obama campaign urged Palestinian officials to deny an Arab media report that the then-Democratic nominee confided to Palestinian leadership that he supports their right to a capital in eastern Jerusalem.
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U.S. To Guarantee Palestinian State – Bind Next Administration
The U.S. is planning to issue a letter guaranteeing the country will back agreements reached during current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aimed at creating a Palestinian state before President Bush leaves office in January, WND has learned.
The move is intended to ensure any agreements reached by the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority, and spelled out in a joint document, will be recognized by the next U.S. administration and binding for Israel and the PA.
The information comes as Jacob Walles, the U.S. consul-general, stated in an interview with a major Palestinian newspaper yesterday that Israel and the PA agreed to negotiate Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley area leading to the Dead Sea.
In response to the report, the State Department issued a statement claiming the U.S. government has not taken a position on the borders of a future Palestinian state and denying Jerusalem is being discussed.
But Israeli and Palestinian sources intimately familiar with the current talks tell WND Jerusalem is being negotiated, with Palestinian officials claiming the talks are in advance stages.
The sources also said the U.S. recently floated a plan to divide Jerusalem.
