France, Britain and Germany want EU and UN to replace US as 'peace talks' facilitator
France, Britain and Germany have called on the United Nations and the European Union to present a 'peace plan' for the Middle East, and to effectively replace the Untied States as the facilitator of 'negotiations.' Putting the job in the hands of the EU and the UN would sideline the United States, Israel's closest ally which has tried unsuccessfully for months to get face-to-face negotiations going, as well as Russia, an ally of the Palestinians.And that is one reason why negotiations aren't likely to resume despite the fact that the Europeans promise
The big question mark is whether the United States would allow the Europeans and UN to take the lead in trying to resolve the standoff, and that is likely to depend on whether the Israelis give a green light, the diplomats said.
The Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to President Barack Obama's target date of September 2011 for an agreement, but negotiations collapsed weeks after they restarted last September.
The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel halts settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War which the Palestinians want for their future state.
The diplomats said the three European countries have delivered the message in key capitals - including Washington and Jerusalem - that if the parameters of a final settlement are endorsed, the Palestinians will return to the negotiating table.YNet adds:
The diplomat said the United States will almost certainly never accept a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence, or any other measure that does not include a negotiated peace agreement.The good news here is that the Europeans' votes in the Security Council are apparently not wrapped up yet.
That's why the three Europeans are pressing for the parameters of a settlement which would hopefully lead to a resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the diplomat said.
Would letting the EU and the UN run the show for a while be a good idea? Well, maybe, if it means that the US will stop playing neutral and get out on our side like most Americans want to do.
Labels: Middle East peace process, Middle East quartet
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:52 AM
2 Comments:
The Palestinians see no reason to negotiate. They figure the Europeans and the UN will back them no matter what regardless of whether they return to the table.
They hold the winning hand and they are not going to throw it away by compromising on their real objective, which is victory over Israel, no matter how long it takes or how many lives it costs.
Don't look for peace talks to resume in the foreseeable future.
I dunno--sounds like they want Israel to make concessions as a prerequisite for the Palestinians agreeing even to negotiate, and then under friendly EU auspices to get even more concessions. Not only can Obama not be counted on to poise a counterweight, but this idiocy runs into the same problems as the "freeze"--you can't short circuit negotiations by repackaging them as pre-negotiating "parameters"--in the end Bibi won't fold; he'll bob and weave and play rope a dope and then the Palestinians will throw another snit.
Kill the "negotiations" and concentrate on the short-term task of negotiations called "parameters" or kill the parameters and get the Palis to the table.
That the minimal plight of the Palestinians, whose major complaints remain: a) Israeli Jews breathing and building apartments in the hoped for eastern province and b) a military blockade on their western province, still preoccupies the European mandarins while the Levantine crescent devolves into tribal chaos east, west, north, and south of the much-reviled Jewish state is a compelling argument for Israel to say thanks but no thanks.
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