Netanyahu, Mitchell end meeting without settlement deal

Published today (updated) 26/08/2009 20:37

 Bethlehem – Ma’an –

The Israeli occupation government prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ended a meeting with US Special Envoy George Mitchell on Wednesday, without an agreement on the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the US wants halted.

After their London meeting, Netanyahu and Mitchell issued a brief Joint Statement saying that they “had a very productive meeting today where the full range of issues was discussed.”

“They agreed on the importance of restarting meaningful negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and working toward a comprehensive peace, and that all sides need to take concrete steps toward peace,” the statement continues.

“The Prime Minister and the Senator [Mitchell] made good progress today, and an Israeli delegation will meet Senator Mitchell next week in the United States to continue the conversation,” the statement concluded.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the next round of US-Israel talks is scheduled for next week in Washington. Netanyahu’s special envoy Yitzhak Molcho and Israeli Defense Ministry chief of staff Mike Herzog, who both participated in Wednesday's meeting, will travel to the US for further talks with Mitchell.

The US administration of President Barack Obama has been pressing Israel to stop all construction on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian leadership has also set a settlement freeze as a precondition for renewed peace negotiations.

After a meeting with British Prime Minster Gordon Brown on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he would not accept a freeze on settlements in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian capital. The US has stressed that their call for a settlement freeze applies to East Jerusalem.

U.S. believes it is narrowing gaps with Israel on settlements

Wednesday August 26, 2009 11:54 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli sources reported that Israel and the United States managed to close several gaps in the positions of the two countries regarding the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

It remains unclear what kind of progress was made, especially since the Obama administration demanded Israel to fully halt the construction of settlements, while Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refused international and U.S. calls in this regard.

Netanyahu stated that the former U.S. President George Bush and his administration vowed not to pressure Israel into evacuating settlements and to allow the country to expand its large settlement blocs in spite the fact that all Israeli settlement are built on occupied Palestinian lands, thus are illegal and violate the international law. 

But a senior U.S. official said that his country’s demands regarding settlements are clear, and that a deal with Israel is nearing. 

On Monday, Netanyahu stated that Israel and the United States are close to a deal that would give the peace process a chance to advance, but at the same time would also give the settlers what he described as “normal life in the settlements”.  

Also on Monday, Netanyahu stated that Jerusalem is the “eternal, undivided capital, of the State of the Jewish People”.

Netanyahu and U.S. Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, are scheduled to meet in London on Wednesday. The talks would focus on settlements; the meeting which is expected to last for three hours. 

 They might schedule another meeting to hatch up some unfinished issues before the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York in September. 

Mitchell plans to return to the Middle East in mid-September; he might hold a meeting with the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, but so far he plans to hold talks with Israeli officials.