President Barack Obama, center, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York today. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders shook hands at the start of their first face-to-face meeting. Photo by Omar Al-Rashidi / AP)
by Christi Parsons
NEW YORK -- Insisting that Middle East peace-talks must move beyond a familiar pattern of taking "tentative steps forward and then stepping back," President Obama entered a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this afternoon with a series of handshakes and a call for "flexibility."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas clasped one another's hands for a lengthy handshake, as television cameras captured the first few moments of their three-way meeting with President Obama.
The parties "cannot continue the same pattern," Obama said, of inching forward toward peace and then sliding back.
The United States is devoted to pressing ahead "in the weeks and months and years to come," Obama said as he convened the session at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, where leaders have gathered for a meeting of the United Nations. "It's not just critical for the Israelis and Palestinians. It's critical for the world. It's in the interest of the United States."
Two-way meetings among between Obama and the Israeli and Palestinian leaders ran long this morning, delaying the long-awaited session with all three leaders in the room. Netanyahu and Abbas did not address reporters allowed into their room for a brief comment from Obama and a series of photographs.
"The U.S. is committed to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," Obama said. "It is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward."
During his individual meetings with Abbas and with Netanyahu prior to their three-way session, Obama expressed to both sides his "determination and, quite frankly, his impatience" that negotiations begin as soon as possible, according to a senior administration official familiar with the discussions.
"It's time to get started," the official said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the meetings. "He argued to them that we have a window of opportunity to actually achieve the goal of achieving two states, but that it is a limited window and both sides need to act now so they don't miss it."
The president asserted that the results of past agreements still apply, and that "we're not going to start from scratch," the official said.
As a result of the morning's meetings, the leaders have decided to dispatch their negotiating teams to meet in New York this week and then reconvene in Washington next week with retired Sen. George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy for the region.
Mitchell maintained today that the session itself was a sign of progress.
"Even nine months ago, such a meeting did not seem possible," Mitchell said after the three-way meeting concluded. When Obama took office, conflict was raging and the parties were at a stand-off, he said.
"Today, the atmosphere is different," Mitchell said, with Palestinians and Israelis sharing the goal of moving forward with negotiations. "Both parties seek the re-launch of negotiations as soon as possible, although there are differences between them...
"Our objective all along has been to re-launch meaningful final status negotiations in a context that offered the prospect of success,'' Mitchell said. "We have never identified the steps requested as ends in themselves. We have always made clear that they are means to an end, the end being the launching of negotiations.''
Comments
There really isn;t any hope of peace in Israel/Palestine in the near future. Netanyahu isn't willing to give anything on even as basic an issue as halting settlement activity in the West Bank. The only even potentially viable road to peace is a two state option. There is exactly zero chance of Netanyahu agreeing to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Which makes what the Palestinians might or might not agree to rather immaterial at this point.
Posted by: Lou | September 22, 2009 4:31 PM
I hope they can get something worked out. Both sides need to pipe down a little.
Posted by: BigCheese | September 22, 2009 4:47 PM
That photo:
Reminds one of Christ flanked by the two malefactors......
Posted by: ornery | September 22, 2009 4:58 PM
Just another photo op for the Bamster. Does anyone think for a minute that Israel would trust anything Obama proposes...especially since he just pulled the rug out of Poland and Czech Republic?
Posted by: Abe | September 22, 2009 5:17 PM
Israel would trust anything Obama proposes...especially since he just pulled the rug out of Poland and Czech Republic?
Posted by: Abe | September 22, 2009 5:17 PM
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You mean the multi billion dollar military missle "defense" shield that doesn't work and never did?
I've got news for you Sparky, everyone, including Israel, is happy that we aren't wasting our time and money on that canard anymore.
Posted by: Lincoln | September 22, 2009 5:56 PM
The talks will probably end up TWO against Israel. Seems to be Obama's grand plan.
Posted by: Inky | September 22, 2009 8:12 PM
Obama: Let me be clear, I have no intention of accomplishing anything.
Posted by: Chris | September 22, 2009 10:22 PM
It worked up until president Obama chickened out. That is, the reason it was put in motion in the first place. However, your multiple personality voices in your head must be telling you that the project was completed and just didn't work?
Appeasing the great Mother Russia and allowing her to keep the little Ex-Soviet Union states under her boot heel is exactly what they (Russia) wanted and the result is tossing Poland, the Czech Republic and soon to be countless other Ex-Soviet countries under the Obamabus. That big Hammer and Sickle will be swinging freely again and then what? Invading those little pesky countries at your border will bring no reprisals from the USA now. The UN will walk and Mother Russia is back with a vengence.
Missle defense promised to those little countries was much more than addressing Iran. President Obama is still calling Iran a threat to their face, he just caved to Russia like the inconsistant, inept, non-leader that he is. By the way, supposedly the White House intellegence is whispering "no long range nuclear missle threat" from Iran. They know this how? oh yeah, the new President (ruler) of Iran says so, heck there's no military use in the planning for his nuclear build-up, just creating electricty for the poor folks over there!
Watch him cave to China, Norht Korea, Iran, Pakistan and every other country that threatens America. The great "appeasement tour" now brought to US soil will end just as his "apology tour" he took to the EU.
The rest of the world does not survive on Hope & Change rhetoric like the sheeple in the US.
Posted by: springfield | September 23, 2009 2:27 PM
"Bibi, I know I just threw you guys under the bus in my U.N. speech today, but we're still good on the whole peace talks thing, right?"
Posted by: Disinterested Observer | September 23, 2009 4:59 PM
Springfield is right the only think keeping the Russian tanks from rolling into Poland and the Czech Republic was the Russian fear of 10 missile intercepting rockets and a radar station. They knew that those 10 intercepors clearly would have wiped out not only the thousands of Riussian ballistic missiles, but all of their tanks and soldiers too. Poland is utterly and completely defenseless against Russia without those missile, and is wholly and completely secure with them. Doom is upon us! I'm sure the Russians will be crossing the borders that they do not have with either Poland or the Czech Republic momentarily!!!!!!!
Posted by: Another military crakpot | September 23, 2009 6:09 PM