US mediator Burns postpones trip seeking cease fire
United States Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who was supposed to arrive in Cairo on Monday for negotiations on a cease fire between Israel and Hamas, has
postponed his trip indefinitely.
Burns was supposed to arrive in Egypt on Monday to attend negotiations with hopes of ending the current violence in Gaza.
Representatives of Palestinian factions arrived in Cairo on Sunday and
started talks with Egyptian officials to reach common ground about an
Egytpian truce initiative proposed two weeks ago.
No Israeli official has arrived to participate in the negations, which
Tel Aviv have called pointless on the grounds that it will not negotiate
with Hamas.
American and Egyptian officials mediating the negotiations for a
cease-fire in Gaza are pressing Israel to take part in diplomatic talks
to end hostilities in Gaza, sources said earlier on Monday, adding that
Egypt still hopes that Israel will eventually take part in the talks
currently held in Cairo.
Given that Egypt has now had the
Qatar-Turkey-Kerry initiative foisted on them, is anyone really surprised Israel isn't showing up?
Labels: cease fire, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, John Kerry, Operation Protective Edge, Qatar, Turkey, William J. Burns
In case you had doubts, State Department admitted its goal
In case you had any doubts about the State Department's goals in our region, William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, spelled it out in an address to the Middle East Institute in November 2009:
Expel all the Jews from Judea and Samaria.
"Our goal in the region is clear," he said, "two states living side by side in peace and security; a Jewish state of Israel, with which America retains unbreakable bonds, and with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, that ends the daily humiliations of Palestinians under occupation, and that realizes the full and remarkable potential of the Palestinian people."
Although he made no mention of any demands upon the PA in order to achieve its goal of establishing a new Arab state within Israel's current borders, Burns was blunt about America's expectations of Israel.
"We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements; we consider the Israeli offer to restrain settlement activity to be a potentially important step, but it obviously falls short of the continuing Roadmap obligation for a full settlement freeze," he said.
Further, he said, "We seek to deepen international support for the Palestinian Authority’s impressive plan to build over the next couple years the institutions that a responsible Palestinian state requires. And we also seek progress toward peace between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Lebanon, as part of a broader peace among Israel and all of its neighbors."
Keep your eye on the ball.
Labels: Jew hatred, US State Department, William J. Burns
