Israeli, Palestinian, U.S. Leaders to Meet at U.N.

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

NEW YORK, United States – Leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and the United States will meet on September 22 on the sidelines of the General Assemble at the United Nations in New York, though none of the parties holds high expectations for the meeting.

 

The planned meeting is the culmination of intense efforts over the past several months by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell and the Obama Administration to create an atmosphere conducive to restarting peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

 

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on September 21 that the Obama Administration did not hold any “high expectations” of any major breakthroughs in the peace process, but that U.S. President Barack Obama hoped that the meeting would “continue to build on progress,” moving closer to actual negotiations.

 

Political realities in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, however, may push any negotiations far into the foreseeable future. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, has said that as long as Israel is unwilling to talk about a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the issue of a right to return for Palestinian refugees, the Palestinians will not come to the table.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged his refusal to freeze settlements, but says that decisions on borders and settlements cannot be made until talks begin. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing coalition is right-wing and adamantly pro-settlement.

 

Another complicating factor in the peace process is the continuing animosity between the two Palestinian ruling parties—Fatah, which governs the West Bank and is the party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh stated that Hamas will reject any agreement that comes out of the meeting in New York. Haniyeh’s statement is indicative of the deep political divide in the Palestinian Territories; in an August public opinion poll by Khalil Shikaki, only 12% of Palestinians said they expected a reconciliation between the governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the near future.

 

Despite widespread pessimism regarding any progress in the U.S. meeting, representatives from the three other so-called Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators – Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations – all still plan to hold meetings with the Israelis and Palestinians during the General Assembly.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ma’an News Agency – White House Seeks to Lower Expectations Ahead of Abbas-Netanyahu Meet – 21 September 2009

 

Voice of America – US, Israeli, Palestinian Leaders to Meet in New York – 21 September 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – Can Hamas Spoil Obama’s Three-Way Mideast Summit? – 20 September 2009

 

New York Times – Obama to Meet With Mideast Leaders – 20 September 2009

 

Al Jazeera – US Fails to Make Peace Breakthrough – 19 September 2009

 

Author: Impunity Watch Archive