The Palestinians had demanded a halt to settlement expansion during peace talks. Photograph: Sebastian Scheiner/AP The White House has abandoned its attempts to pressure Israel to halt Jewish settlement construction as a means to kickstart peace talks after three weeks of failed negotiations.The collapse of the talks is a frustrating blow to the Obama administration which offered billions of dollars in financial and diplomatic inducements to persuade the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to agree a three-month construction moratorium during which the Americans intended that the Israelis and Palestinians would reach an outline agreement on borders and put the settlement issue to rest.The Palestinians demanded a halt to settlement expansion during peace talks as a litmus test of Netanyahu's intent because they say Israel uses negotiations to buy time while moving Jewish settlers in to the occupied territories.Officials said the talks foundered, in part, on Israeli resistance to American pressure to concentrate on agreeing the borders of a Palestinian state during the three-month negotiation window offered by a construction freeze. Netanyahu wanted Israel's demands for security guarantees, such as continued control over the Jordan Valley, to be addressed first.The Obama administration believes an agreement on borders would largely negate the settlement issue because Israel would then be free to build in those areas that it will retain but will have little incentive to continue expanding its colonies on the Palestinian side of the frontier. But without a deal, settlement construction would again emerge as a major sore.Netanyahu was also refusing to put the American proposal to his cabinet without written guarantees that Washington was not prepared to give, including what amounted to US endorsement of the Israeli claim to be able to build freely for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.Earlier, the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, told a parliamentary committee that the talks had gone nowhere. He added that negotiations with the Palestinians "are of utmost priority for Israel and we must aspire to make them happen".Netanyahu's apparent unwillingness to even put the issue to his cabinet will further frustrate the US administration which has been doubtful of his professions of commitment to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians, again made with unusual enthusiasm during a visit to Washington in September. On that occasion, the Israeli prime minister insisted that he was prepared to make "painful concessions" and called the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, his "partner in peace".It is not clear where the White House goes from here but the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is expected to outline the administration's approach in a policy speech later this week.US officials have suggested that their efforts will now concentrate on the core issues of drawing up borders and addressing Israel's demand for security guarantees, although no one is predicting a swift breakthrough.Negotiators from both sides are expected to visit Washington next week for consultations on how the stalled talks could proceed, according to an American official quoted by Reuters.Washington had offered the Israelis a range of inducements in an attempt to persuade Netanyahu to agree to a construction freeze, including $3bn worth of fighter jets and a promise to veto any UN resolution calling for immediate recognition of a Palestinian state. The failure of the Israeli government to respond to the US offer had dragged on for several weeks. The exposure of state department cables through WikiLeaks and the forest fires in northern Israel added to the delay.Direct talks began in September but broke down within weeks when an earlier 10-month freeze on building in West Bank settlements expired. Abbas repeatedly said his negotiators would not resume talks without a further freeze.The Palestinians may now be encouraged to press for a UN Security Council vote on recognising a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders. In the past few days, Brazil and Argentina have recognized a de facto state in moves which have angered the Israelis.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment