US to Cooperate with Netenyahu, George Mitchell to Stay in Jerusalem, Carter representatives Meet Hamas lawmaker

US pledges to cooperate with Netanyahu gov't

[ 21/02/2009 - 10:16 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)--

The new American administration pledged to continue cooperating with the new Israeli government to be formed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing optimism about the future of peace talks in the Middle East.

State department spokesman Gordon Duguid stated that his country is an old and constant ally to Israel and will cooperate with the new Israeli government on bilateral and regional issues

In a debate organized by the Brookings institution in Washington, Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, said that Netanyahu might avoid American pressure by seeking peace deals with Syrians and Palestinians.

Indyk underlined that the unpleasant track record of Netanyahu in the 90s of the last century suggests that he would be subjected to pressure from the new American administration to move Palestinian-Israeli negotiations forward.

He added that the consequences of Netanyahu 's policy at that time got him into considerable trouble with the then US president Bill Clinton and brought tensions to US-Israeli relations.

For his part, Stanley Greenberg, a former advisor to Clinton, said during the debate that even though the Israeli coalition is right-wing, it does not necessarily mean halting the peace process.

In another context, member of the Hamas parliamentary bloc Ayman Daraghmeh met Friday with representatives of the Carter center and discussed with them a number of issues in the Palestinian arena especially the inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

MP Daraghmeh told the delegation that the internal Palestinian situation today is better after everyone became convinced that Israel does not seek peace.

The lawmaker expressed hope that the international institutions especially the Carter center would assume their role towards the Palestinians through helping them to restore their usurped rights.

He said that these international institutions should ask Israel to recognize the Palestinian rights, not to ask the Palestinians to recognize the occupation.

Obama's Envoy, George Mitchell, to Have Permanent Office in Jerusalem

Date: 21 / 02 / 2009  Time:  09:31
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is planning to set up a permanent presence in Jerusalem.

Mitchell is beginning a two-week visit to the region on Monday during which he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, in hopes of convincing them to resume peace negotiations after a new Israeli government is formed.

Mitchell was quoted saying that he will reside permanently in the region. A team of diplomats at his Jerusalem office will represent him when he is away.

Mitchell first visited the region in January, in the aftermath of the Israeli offensive in Gaza that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead, most of whom were civilians, particularly children and women. More than 5,000 were injured, many of whom with permanent conditions, as a result of the US-made weapons like phosphorus and DIME bombs dropped by F-16 Israeli warplanes.

Carter Center representatives meet Hamas lawmaker in Ramallah

Date: 21 / 02 / 2009  Time:  13:23
Ramallah – Ma’an –

Representatives of the Atlanta-based Carter Center met with Hamas-affiliated Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Daraghmah in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.

Among the topics addressed in the meeting were efforts to reconcile Hamas with its Palestinian rival, Fat'h.

The Carter Center was represented in Timothy Rothermel, Sarah Johnson, and David Carroll.

The Center assisted in overseeing the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in 2006 which Hamas won. Former US President Jimmy Carter has been a leading advocate for engaging Hamas in the Middle East peace process.

Darghmah said during the meeting that negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel have not yielded any tangible results, and that the Israeli occupation does not really seek peace.

Daraghmah expressed his hopes that reconciliation efforts with Fat'h will succeed. He also called for the implementation of the 2005 Cairo agreement which recommended restructuring and reactivating the PLO and the Palestinian security forces.

He also pointed out that certain issues in the intra-Palestinian talks would be thorny, yet the last meetings between rival parties of Hamas and Fatah in Cairo took place in a positive atmosphere, suggesting such difficulties could be overcome.

Daraghmah also called on international organizations including the Carter Center to do their best in to restore Palestinian rights.

“They should ask occupation whether they recognize Palestinian rights, rather than asking the Palestinians whether they recognize the state of Israel,” he said.

US lawmakers meet with Anglican bishop in Jerusalem

Date: 20 / 02 / 2009  Time:  15:53
Jerusalem – Ma’an –

Members of the US Congress, Representatives Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and Brian Baird (D-Washington) met with the Right Reverend Dr. Suheil S. Dawani, the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem prior to their historic visit to Gaza.

Both Congressmen had been at Doha, Qatar for the “2009 US Islamic World Forum – Common Challenges,” where Bishop Suheil, a participant at the Forum, had invited them to visit him at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral when in Jerusalem.

Representative Ellison is the only Muslim in the US Congress.

During the 70-minute meeting, Bishop Dawani briefed the two congressmen on the work and mission of the Diocese and its active involvement in Ecumenical and Interfaith endeavors in the five countries served by the Diocese since the inception of an Anglican Presence in the Holy City in 1841, a spokesperson said.