Israel-US Analysis: Netanyahu Wins --- 1, 2, 3, 4 Times --- in Talks With Obama (Yenidunya)

Finally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had his meeting with Barack Obama, an encounter described by the US President as "excellent".

Both leaders pointed to four main topics in their private talks, but the most striking note in Obama's speech was his emphasis on "Israel's security", mentioned eight times, crowned by "the U.S.'s unwavering commitment to Israel's security" and an underlining of the "unbreakable bonds" between two countries.

Palestine Analysis: Assessing Direct Talks between Israel & the Palestinian Authority
Israel Video & Transcript: The Netanyahu-Obama Meeting (6 July)

First of all, there was Gaza. Obama did not criticise Israel's misconduct over the clash with the Freedom Flotilla. He did not mention West Jerusalem's pursuit of an internal enquiry, defying calls for an impartial, international investigation. But he did praise Israel's "real progress" with the widening of the list of goods permitted entry into Gaza.

Secondly, the "Iranian threat". Both leaders praised national and international sanctions. Then, Netanyahu added the title "the biggest threat" to Tehran and called on all those in the United Nations to increase the effectiveness of the sanctions, especially on the energy sector.

Thirdly, Israel's nuclear arsenals. Although nearly 200 signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the US, agreed in May to work towards a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East, Obama stated that there is no change in U.S. policy on West Jerusalem's officially undeclared stockpile of nuclear arms:  "Israel has unique security requirements!"

Lastly, the talks with the Palestinian Authority. Obama's agenda is crystal-clear: both sides will present confidence-building measures. Included in this is a messsage to the Palestinians not to make any demand for a freeze on construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank,  as this will lead to "more room created by more trust".

Then, the parties will move to direct talks. The precedent has been set by this week's  meetingin Jerusalem between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Palestinian Authority's Salam Fayyad. In that meeting, Fayyad asked for more space and duties for a Palestinian security force, consolidating the Palestinian Authority's legitimacy. Obama offered support:

Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas], working with Fayyad, has done some very significant things when it comes to the security front.  And so us being able to widen the scope of their responsibilities in the West Bank is something that I think would be very meaningful to the Palestinian people.

Obama, when asked if  there would be an extension of the construction freeze in the West Bank, merely stated that parties should engage in direct talks so that they can trust each other through confidence-building measures.

It is both interesting and unusual that Washington expects Ramallah to be "more pragmatic"over West Bank settlements  while presuming that this will have no effect in its legitimacy, both in the eyes of its rivals and of its people.

The one explanation that might account for this American position is that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have already agreed in principle to a proposal for a swap of land for 2.3 percent of the West Bank, Israel's sovereignty over the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, and East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. With that deal in the pockets of neogtiators, direct talks will be brief and the parties can go to a final stage of discussions.

Is it really that easy? Or did Benjamin Netanyahu just post some big victories --- 1, 2, 3, and 4 --- on the lawn of the White House?

Palestine Analysis: Assessing Direct Talks between Israel & the Palestinian Authority

On Monday, Palestinian Authority leader Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met for the first high-level talks since the US began "proximity" negotiations.

Starting at the top of his agenda, Fayyad asked Barak to allow more space and duties to Palestinian forces in the West Bank so the foundations and legitimacy of a future Palestinian state are not damaged through perpetual Israeli operations.

Israel Video & Transcript: The Netanyahu-Obama Meeting (6 July)
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Fayyad then urged Barak to lift Israel blockade and, according to newspapers, both men talked about how the situation in East Jerusalem could be improved. However, nothing has been revealed about any discussion on the settlements in the West Bank.

"Quick resolution of both issues is very important in order for there to begin to develop a sense of a state in the making," said Fayyad. He added that Barak had promised that the issues raised, among them Israeli actions in East Jerusalem, would "be seriously studied and there will be specific and clear answers to all the issues that were discussed".

The two men also agreed to maintain a direct line of communication between their offices “to increase coordination and provide a response on issues that require direct and rapid contact between the sides”.

If the encounter's primary concern was consolidation of the Palestinian Authority's legitimacy, then here are those who are not happy with this meeting:

Hamas condemned the meeting as “disgraceful” for Fayyad's Fatah Party and “offensive” to the Palestinians. “This meeting marks the beginning of direct negotiations [between the PA and Israel] and is being held on instructions from the US administration,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza City. “This meeting shows that [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas is lying to his people when he says he’s opposed to direct negotiations with Israel.”

The Islamic Jihad organization accused Fayyad of “washing Barak’s hands from the blood of the flotilla victims and Palestinians” and added:

This meeting [between Fayyad and Barak] is in the context of the agenda that Fayyad is implementing and which has nothing to do with the interests of the Palestinian people. The claim that they discussed the siege on the Gaza Strip is only aimed at misleading our people. The man who perpetrated the piracy crime against the ships cannot lift the siege.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine declared the meeting was unjustified and called on PA officials to refrain from talking to Israelis. The group said:

Is this meeting being held to pave the way for the resumption of direct talks [between Israel and the PA]? Or is it aimed at making Netanyahu’s visit to Washington successful?

The Ahrar (Free) Movement said that the meeting between Fayyad and Barak was in the context of ongoing security cooperation between the two sides and continued:

The Ramallah government [headed by Fayyad] is still insisting on serving as Israel’s security agent.

Palestine & Israel: The Situation on the Eve of Obama-Netanyahu Talks

On the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly proposed the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with a possible land swap of 2.3 percent of the West Bank.

The PA would receive land of comparable size and quality in the southern West Bank as well as a corridor between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Abbas also reportedly proposed the easing of Palestinian demands over East Jerusalem to permit the Jewish Quarter of the Old City as well as the Western Wall to remain under Israeli sovereignty. The remainder of the Old City would become the capital of a Palestinian state but would be open to the adherents of all faiths.

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However, on Saturday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denied that Abbas had condoned these proposals. Dismissing reports of progress between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Erekat said that the American intention to upgrade current peace discussions to direct talks has been failing due to Israel's actions. He continued:

Israel refuses to give up the building in the settlements and to agree to renew the negotiations that were impeded by this stumbling block and, therefore, has failed in the intention to transform the proximity talks into direct contacts.

If Abbas was supporiting the reported offer, similar to the Camp David proposal of the Palestinian side in 2000, it matches Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's alleged suggestion to Obama, asking for the approval of the Israeli rule and the continuation of but limitation of construction in large settlements in the West Bank.

The Palestinian side and the Americans may realise that the current pressure on Israel to continue the freeze onn construction in the West Bank settlements is not sustainable as settlers' friction with Palestinians are increasing. Palestinians might be preparing for a soft turn if Washington approves.

However, the core issues are going to be the refugee problem and, especially, the status of Jerusalem. Palestinians are insistent on East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state and on rule over the Temple Mount while giving the authority of the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall to the Israeli government. This is likely to be the key to a move to direct talks.

And Hamas? Well, the flotilla crisis is on hold now, since the international community gave consent to Israel's internal probe and West Jerusalem's officials are to announce the new and relatively limited blacklist of goods prohibited entry into Gaza. The Israeli government has successfully reduced the "problem" with Hamas to the status of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. If Washington steps back and the Palestinians pursue a practical solution, the process will continue without Hamas as long as it does not change its strategy.