US opening up daylight on the Middle East... with the Arab side
All of a sudden, the Obama administration is opening up daylight between itself and one side of the Middle East conflict. But thankfully (and surprisingly), for now at least, that side is not Israel. It's the Arab side. It came out in a meeting this week between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judah. Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judah agreed that the Israelis and Palestinians should move to direct talks quickly. They didn't agree on much else. For example, Judah flatly rejected Obama's call for help in nudging the Palestinians to the table.The real question is what will happen after November and whether the Obama administration will go back to pressuring Israel as it did for most of its first year and a half in office.
"Jordan and other Arab states are crucial to this effort, to foster conditions for further progress," Clinton said during a mini press conference at the State Department.
"I think once direct negotiations are resumed, you'll see an engagement by the overall Arab context, and the tangible support that you refer to. But let's not put the cart before the horse," Judah responded.
That wasn't the only gap between the two foreign ministers.
For example, Clinton foresaw a two-state solution that "reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent, viable and contiguous state based on the 1967 lines -- with agreed swaps -- and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements"
In Judah's vision, the Palestinian state "emerges on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Judah also backstopped the Palestinian position on moving to direct talks, emphasizing that face-to-face negotiations must address "all final-status issues -- including borders, security, Jerusalem, and refugees," and must be "time- bound, benchmarked, and conducted in good faith."
Clinton agreed that "we believe that all the issues that need to be resolved between the parties must be discussed in direct negotiations." But she didn't touch on the issues of Jerusalem or refugees specifically, two sensitive topics Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said are not on the table.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:22 PM
1 Comments:
Like Barry Rubin has noted, this Administration has a demonstrated history of extracting concessions from Israel and then forgetting them in the next crisis and pressuring Israel for still more concessions. No one should be under any illusions the Administration's game plan has changed. What has changed for now is its estimation it can't afford to put the heat on Israel during an election season not that its policy has really changed. I bet we'll find out early next year its back to business as usual for Obama and the State Department, depending on how the President comes faring out of the mid-term election.
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