JERUSALEM, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United States special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is in Israel in a fresh push of long-stalled peace process.
Mitchell is expected to reach an agreement with Israel on a settlement freeze ahead of an anticipated meeting in New York later this month between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
OUTSTANDING DIFFERENCES
Netanyahu said last week that his country is likely to clinch a deal with the United States in a short time over the settlement activities in the West Bank.
The agreement would be finalized during Mitchell's visit, Netanyahu was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying at a meeting with ministers from his hawkish Likud party.
Yet differences remain between the United States and Israel on what form a settlement freeze should take, for how long it should last, and what geographical areas it should encompass.
The definition of a freeze is contested. Netanyahu argues existing settlers should be able to expand their homes, villages and towns in accordance with natural growth. Larger families need more facilities, housing, schools and other municipal services.
However, U.S. President Barack Obama said that is unacceptable.
Israel wants to see a freeze of some six months in duration, while Washington is pushing for a longer period of one to two years.
Israel wants to exclude Jerusalem from any deal, while the United States believes the eastern half of the city, also deemed occupied territory by the United Nations, should be included in the construction ban.
Mitchell's talks with Israeli officials in the Jewish country aim at narrowing the gap.
The parties have held several meetings and significant progress has been made, according to both sides, but not enough to achieve a deal.
Abbas and Netanyahu are likely to meet during the opening of the 64th United Nations General Assembly, which gets underway later this week. It is expected their meeting could be chaired by Obama.
However, the Israeli approval last week of hundreds of new homes in the West Bank settlements might be a new controversy.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) slammed Israel immediately, saying such a decision was "a direct challenge to U.S. and international efforts to restart negotiations."
Mitchell needs to see sufficient progress in his talks with Israel to make sure that the tripartite meeting happens and is as successful as possible.
In addition to meeting Netanyahu, his agenda includes talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his most regular of Israeli interlocutors, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
PALESTINIANS SETTING THE TONE
While most of Mitchell's frequent visits to the region focus on Israel, he will also meet with Palestinian leader during his latest tour in the region.
The Americans are well aware that one of the determining factors for Israeli-Palestinian talks is the Palestinian public opinion.
"The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) would be in a very bad situation without an Israeli presence in the West Bank, while a full Israeli military withdrawal would be very popular" among Palestinians, a senior adviser to Israeli defense establishment told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The advisor, who is close to the negotiations, said he believes that if Israel agrees to hand all security in the West Bank over to the Fatah-dominated PNA, Hamas will soon take control of the area.
However, the Palestinian leadership cannot allow that message to filter down to the people and so it remains firmly entrenched in public in its opposition to any Israeli activities in the West Bank.
As a result, the adviser said, if any meeting does take place between Abbas and Netanyahu it may be that journalists will not be given permission to record the event, so as to avoid rocking the boat in the Palestinian street.
Further, Obama may deliver a secret letter to the Palestinians making firm commitments in their direction in order to ensure the meeting goes ahead, the adviser suggested, basing his assessment on the actions of previous administrations. The contents of such a letter would only become apparent to Israel at a later date, he added.
The Obama team is keen for the meeting to go ahead because of the tough situation Obama is currently facing both domestically and in other key foreign-policy areas, the adviser concluded.
For the Americans the settlements issue is really "foreplay," said Akiva Eldar, a veteran columnist with the leading Israel daily Ha'aretz, when speaking with Xinhua. The argument over the length of a settlement freeze is merely a sideshow and agreement will likely come, he said.
The real discussions lie ahead and will be far more problematic to resolve, such as the fate of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees, said Eldar. Here he sees an inconsistency that may plague Israeli-Palestinian relations in the short term.
The well informed Eldar believes the U.S. may well be giving separate and contradictory messages to Israel and the Palestinians regarding Jerusalem.
"The Americans have decided to push ahead with the process and in order to do so they're giving something to Israel and something to the Palestinians," he said.
The Israelis have been told that negotiations with the Palestinians, once they resume, will not initially focus on refugees and Jerusalem. Israel perceives Jerusalem is its indivisible capital, while the Palestinians insist the capital of their future state will be located in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians will be told by Washington that there will be recognition of a Palestinian state or entity within two years, with the 1967 borders as the basis for negotiations, "which means the division of Jerusalem," said Eldar.
These are the truly divisive arguments, rather than a disagreement between Israel and the U.S. on whether there is a settlement freeze for six months or a year, Eldar added.
BUSY WEEK FOR ISRAELI DIPLOMACY
As Mitchell was meeting other Israeli government ministers on Sunday, Netanyahu was in Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. The Mubarak team is proving to be a key partner for Washington as it tries to advance an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.
Netanyahu said he hopes he can persuade the Arab world to engage Israel as an incentive for Israel to move towards a deal with the Palestinians.
While some in the Arab world have shown willingness, some other like the Saudis are insisting any normalization should only follow a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is headed for Washington and talks about upping the level of ongoing strategic talks between the countries.
It is reported that from now on these negotiations that focus on a variety of bilateral issues will be held at the level of foreign ministers.
Israel's Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is also in the United States this week. His key concern is Iran. Steinitz is working to persuade the Obama administration to impose far stronger economic sanctions against Iran at the U.N. Security Council.
CAIRO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the veteran mediator asked Israel to stop settlements so as to push the peace process in the Middle East.
After their closed-door meeting, Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said that Mubarak called on Israeli prime minister during the talks to halt all kinds of settlement activities including the natural growth of the settlements. Full story
CAIRO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over peace process in the Middle East, according to source at Cairo Airport.
Mubarak and Netanyahu have just started their talks in Cairo shortly before the fast-breaking meal in Ramadan, Egyptian Nile News TV reported on Sunday. Full story
JERUSALEM, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday told U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy that time is right to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations this month.
"I do believe there is a fair chance to renew the negotiations before the end of this month. I think that the time may be right to do so," said Peres alongside George Mitchell, who arrived on Saturday night in another bid to help kick start peace talks between the two Mideast neighbors that have been bogged down for a year. Full story
