Clinton Toughens Language on Middle East Negotiations
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Israelis and Palestinians to stop “demonizing” each other and to make “real progress” on their disagreements in the next few months.
Addressing senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, Clinton expressed “deep frustration” that negotiations haven’t gone further and faster. Both sides should stop assigning “blame for the next failure,” she said.
“It is time to grapple with the core issues of this conflict on borders and security, settlements, water and refugees, and on Jerusalem itself,” Clinton said in a speech in Washington Dec. 10. Both sides “have often not been ready to take the necessary steps. Going forward, they must take responsibility and make the difficult decisions that peace requires.”As Israelis and Palestinians enter a new phase of talks after direct negotiations broke down in September, Clinton said the U.S. would offer proposals to bridge differences between the two groups “when appropriate.” The top U.S. diplomat stressed it was in the interests of the U.S. to see a resolution to a conflict she described as a “source of tension” in the region.
Stern Language
Clinton adopted stern language in her first public remarks on the Middle East peace process since the administration decided four days ago to stop pressuring Israel to renew a moratorium on West Bank settlement construction. (that lasted less than four days, before pressuring Israel AGAIN!)
“Palestinians must appreciate Israel’s legitimate security concerns,” Clinton said. “And Israelis must accept the legitimate territorial aspirations of the Palestinian people. Ignoring the other side’s needs is in the end self-defeating.”
She also rebuked Palestinians for seeking recognition of their state from the United Nations. Brazil and Argentina announced this month that they would recognize a Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders, and Uruguay pledged to do the same next year. “Unilateral efforts,” Clinton said, are “not helpful and undermine trust.”Israelis were receptive to her message that time was running out to reach an agreement.
‘World is Changing’
“The world is changing before our eyes and is no longer willing to accept our continued control over another people,” Barak said in a speech that came after Clinton’s. As for an agreement, Barak said “in the coming weeks we will find a way to make it happen.”
Both sides must be ready, “mentally and psychologically and politically,” to come to the table, Barak said in an interview airing today on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”
Negotiations must address “the real issues,” including “borders, security, refugees, Jerusalem, end of conflict and finality of future claims,” he said. “And I feel that the opportunity is here.”
In bringing the two sides together in September, President Barack Obama and Clinton said they aimed for a peace settlement within a year. Clinton’s speech made no reference to that goal.
‘Days Ahead’
To underline the administration’s sense of urgency, Clinton said U.S. discussions in the days ahead with both sides “will be substantive, two-way conversations.”She is sending U.S. envoy George Mitchell back to the region on Dec. 12.
Clinton said she had already begun to work on core issues in meetings yesterday with Palestinian and Israeli officials, including Fayyad and Barak and also consulted Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and chief Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molho.
Clinton said the two sides must agree on a “single line drawn on a map that divides Israel from Palestine” and to permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan and Egypt.
She was less definitive on the issue of Palestinian refugees who want to return to homes they left in what is now Israel. The “difficult and emotional” issue needs a “just and permanent solution that meets the needs of both sides,” Clinton said.
Clinton said Israel settlements are “corrosive, not only to peace efforts and the two-state solution, but to Israel’s future itself.” The U.S. doesn’t accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity, Clinton said.
Jerusalem’s Status
On Jerusalem, which Jews and Arabs claim as a capital, Clinton urged the two sides to agree on an outcome that “safeguards its status for people around the world.”Direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas collapsed in September after less than a month when a 10-month Israeli moratorium on settlement construction expired.
After weeks of diplomacy aimed at persuading Israel to renew a freeze on settlement-building, the U.S. retracted its offer to give Israel 20 additional F-35 fighter jets in return for a 90-day moratorium on construction in the West Bank.
Barak said he favored such a deal in his interview with CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”
“I tried to help it come to life, and I would love to see it implemented and carried out,” Barak said of the fighter-jet proposal. “And I don’t see it as a bribery.”
The Obama administration’s offer reflected “a genuine sentiment within the American people” to help Israel “keep its qualitative military edge,” he said. “Israel takes upon itself much more security risks than usual. And America can come to our help.”
--With assistance from Molly Peterson in Washington. Editors: Paul Tighe, Ann Hughey.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net; Flavia Krause-Jackson in Washington at fjackson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net.
Note:
Dear Ms. Clinton,
As Secretary of State, you should be more aware of the history of the Middle East. Then, you would not "tell" Israel what to think, how to behave, when to build, what should be important to them .... for you should already understand matters that are of utmost importance to the survival of the State of Israel.
Israel and its leaders and civilians KNOW what is important; you apparently cannot read minds, and therefore, it would be in your best interest to study the background of the Palestinian agenda, and as a mediator in these negotiations, you should be aware that "mediators" do NOT interfere, they LISTEN ... they do not impose their frustrations upon others, nor do they pretend to know the issues confronting the parties before listening to the parties goals and ambitions.
Mediators should be well informed about the issues - you, dear lady, are more concerned about saving face for the Obama administration and its failed foreign policies, while hanging on to a biased opinion of the State of Israel.
The real issues that must be addressed are: who speaks for Abbas? Palestinians? Arab Council? United States? How would one know, when Abbas does not speak to the Israelis, only to the press and world leaders who lend an ear to the Arab propaganda, while seeking a two-state solution that does not include Jews.
Read the Palestinian Charter, for starters and then grasp exactly what their goals are towards the State of Israel.
Stop using the Media as a platform for your own frustrations and begin acting as though you understand what is of importance to Israel, for starters; before opening your mouth and putting your foot in, much like the rest of this administration every time they stand before a camera, with a teleprompter handy, for not an original thought comes from the minds (or hearts) of this small group of elitists/liberals who refuse to acknowledge that the globe is at war with Islamic/Muslim ambitions - to terrorize the world.
Hang up your politically correct agenda - throw it away, and begin to rethink exactly how and when you and this administration began making wrong decisions and always choosing the wrong side to stand on. Try, for once in your life, to stand up to what is right, not what is drastically wrong in this world. Become a leader for the "Free" world - not for organizations that wish to compromise the democracy of Israel, for you compromise America at the same time.
Oh, the Palestinians do NOT have "legitimate territorial aspirations" - to become legitimate, you must inform the Palestinians that their home is Jordan - not Israel, not Judea and Samaria, not Jerusalem, and not even Gaza! There are 22 Arab countries - the Palestinians want Israel to become "Number 23". You speak of a two-state solution, but never of two peoples - nor, do you mention that the State of Israel is the ONE AND ONLY country that is a Jewish nation, unlike the 22 ARAB COUNTRIES surrounding Israel. Lastly, since when (please show a date, time, historical documents) demonstrating WHEN Jerusalem ever was the Capital of Islam! Their faces point to Mecca - not Jerusalem. Mecca is the Capital of Islam/Muslims. The Muslims cannot make New York City their Capital simply because they attacked America on September 11th - the Muslim Arabs cannot make Jerusalem their Capital, simply because they took over the Temple Mount.
Bee Sting
