by Emad Drimly, Saud Abu Ramadan
RAMALLAH, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Despite the active movement of the U.S. diplomacy to push forward the Middle East peace process, it seems that there will be no imminent breakthrough to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which have been stalled since December 2008.
Observers believe that in spite of the marathon talks held on Friday and Saturday between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S peace envoy George Mitchell and President Mahmoud Abbas in Abu Dhabi, to end the current impasse, achieving a breakthrough has become illusive in this stage.
Separate U.S.-Palestinian, and U.S.-Israeli talks were held in Washington early in October in a bid to bridge the gap between Israel and the Palestinians. But these talks haven't melted the ice between the two sides in order to seriously resume the talks on the hope of ending a six-decade conflict.
At the end of the meeting between Abbas and Clinton in Abu Dhabi, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, told reporters "the talks haven't made a breakthrough. Freezing settlement and defining a reference for the peace process are the only exit to get back to the talks."
PALESTINIAN CONCERNS
The Palestinians haven't hidden their concerns over the recent U.S.-Israeli close position, mainly over the question of the unconditioned resumption of peace negotiations between the two sides. The Palestinian leadership insists that no resumption of talks before halting settlement in the West Bank.
The American administration wants to resume the peace talks on the permanent status issues between Israel and the Palestinians without preconditions, which is clearly an Israeli demand that rejects to freeze settlement activities as a condition for the resumption of talks.
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official Saeb Erekat, who is a veteran peace negotiator, said that under such a situation, "Israel doesn't see or feel any U.S. pressure on it; therefore Israel still rejects to freeze or halt settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem."
"When we call for stopping settlement activities, including the so-called natural growth is not a Palestinian rejection or a Palestinian condition to resume the talks, it is a commitment, where Israel should implement in accordance to the Roadmap plan for peace," Erekat told reporters.
U.S. IN TROUBLE:
Erekat criticized the administration of President Barack Obama as saying: "If President Obama and the American administration are not able to commit Israel to stop settlement, how can they make Israel withdraw to the 1967 borders and resolve the sticky questions of Jerusalem and the refugees?"
Hani al-Masri, the West Bank-based political analyst explained to Xinhua that "the continuation of this deadlock indicates that the U.S administration is in trouble and is unable to fulfill its commitments," adding that "such a U.S. position would never help to resume the stalled peace talks."
He added that the U.S. position contradicts with what President Obama announced in his historic reconciliatory speech he addressed from Cairo University in June, where he promised to help resuming a serious peace process that is able to end the conflict within two years.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is preparing to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before she goes to Morocco to hold talks with Arab foreign ministers to earn more support for the U.S. position that calls for the immediate resumption of the peace talks.
MORE U.S. PRESSURE
Palestinian observers said that the U.S. is apparently trying to raise the level of its role in communications between the Palestinians and the Israelis to overcome obstacles through holding indirect contacts that Clinton and her delegation will conduct.
Hanan Ashrawi, member of Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive committee said that if there will be no more U.S. pressure on Israel to completely halt settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, the U.S. officials' visits and rounds of talks won't help to pressure on the Palestinians.
"Dealing with Israel as if it dictates conditions on peace will influence Washington's credibility and the entire process of negotiations," said Ashrawi, adding that the Palestinians "will be disappointed if the U.S. pressure on Israel turn to a pressure on the Palestinians."
Earlier reports said the Palestinians rejected a deal reached between Israel and the U.S. to accept building 3,000 housing units in the West Bank for freezing settlement in Jerusalem in addition to not building any governmental establishments such as schools and hospitals.
"This deal is an Israeli attempt to resolve the crisis on the ground instead of resolving it on the negotiation table," said Fatah central committee member Mohamed Dahlan, adding that "the permanent status talks should begin from where it stopped in December 2008."
