Mitchell to meet Abbas after pressing Israel on settlements

Date: 10 / 06 / 2009 Time: 09:57
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

US President Barack Obama’s envoy to the Middle East will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, a day after he told Israeli officials that Washington will not back away from demands for a settlement freeze.

Envoy George Mitchell reiterated the Obama administration’s insistence on a halt to construction in all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, a step Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to take.

Mitchell said that opposition to settlements has been US policy since Israel seized the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza more than 40 years ago. In spite of this he reassured Israel that the US would remain its close ally.

"We come here to talk not as adversaries and in disagreement, but as friends in discussion," Mitchell said before meeting Netanyahu on Tuesday evening.

Mitchell will hold talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, before heading to Lebanon and Syria.

The Lebanon-Syria leg of Mitchell's visit was announced on Tuesday as part of what a State Department spokesperson called a trip seeking "broad-based, comprehensive peace dealing with all the regional players."

"This is a very high priority," spokesman Ian Kelly said.

Mitchell: "committed to Israel's security"

Wednesday June 10, 2009 12:24 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

In all of his meetings with Israeli officials, US envoy George Mitchell, confirmed the American commitment to Israel's security while at the same time stated that the United States still believes that Israel should stop the construction and expansion of settlement.

Mitchell also said that the Unites States position on settlements never changed since 40 years; which is the same period in which settlement were built and expanded on Palestinian lands under direct and indirect US support

As for the Gaza Strip, Mitchell said that crossings to should opened under direct cooperation with the government of Salam Fayyad in the West Bank.

He also said that the US wants to make sure that if construction materials are allowed into Gaza, they won’t be used by Hamas for manufacturing combat materials.

Meanwhile, Israeli media sources reported that the Mitchell's statements were moderate regardless of the "tension between Israel and the US on settlements", and that Mitchell confirmed in every meeting that the United States is committed to Israel's security.

During his meeting with Mitchell, Israeli occupation government prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel want to achieve peace in the region but did not express willingness to halt the construction and expansion of settlements.

Mitchell said that “the United States and Israel will always be friends and close allies”.
The US envoy did not mention urge Israel to be committed to UN and Security Council resolutions regarding a full withdrawal from the Arab and Palestinian territories captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem.

He also did not ask Israel to adhere to abide by the International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention especially since settlements violate the international law and the basic principles of human rights.

The Convention prevents the transfer of civilian populations onto land acquired by military takeover.

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