Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu-Mitchell Talks Postponed

Here's a news item that, amidst other crises, slipped under the radar: "A meeting between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell originally scheduled to take place in Paris on Thursday has been postponed with no new date set."

This was supposed to be the follow-up to President Obama's Cairo initiative but the US-Israel row over Israeli settlements in the West Bank is still at the centre of relations. Netayanhu's recent speech has not removed that obstacle; to the contrary, it indicates that Tel Aviv is holding its position.

So the process reverts to another visit by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Washington on Monday. Barak had privately and publicly more receptive of the US position, but on Tuesday he was reported "to have approved the construction of 240 housing units" in the Israeli settlements. A State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, announced the Mitchell-Netanyahu suspension and added:

I’ll reiterate our – what we always say or what I always say and what others say: We oppose continued settlement activity. All parties have the responsibility to help create the context that will support renewed, meaningful negotiations that can be concluded quickly. The bottom line is that we expect all parties to honor their commitments. Our position is that settlement activity has to stop consistent with the Roadmap.