Turkey's Erdogan to Israel: "Syria Will Never Come to Table without Me!"

Israel-Syria-Palestine: Sarkozy the Mediator?

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On Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that, although Israel no longer trusts Turkey to mediate talks with Syria, Damascus would not accept France as an alternative: "On this issue (of mediation), Israel's stance is that it doesn't trust us. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert trusted Turkey, but [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu doesn't trust us. That's his choice.

"Now France is trying to take up the role we had. I'm not sure what kind of stance [Syrian President] Bashar Assad will take, but from what I've heard from him, they're not going to accept something like this."

Palestinian Authority: "No Unilateral Action but Confirmation of Two States"

Israel-Palestine Analysis: Time for a Complete Halt of the West Bank Settlements?
Israel-Palestine Video: Obama “Additional Settlements are Dangerous”
Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements

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Having been rebuffed by Washington and Brussels, on Tuesday, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat now says the Palestinian Authority is not considering an unilateral declaration of  a Palestinian state: "What we are seeking is to preserve the two-state solution. One state is not an option. We want the Security Council to declare that the two-state solution is the only option and that it would recognize the state of Palestine on the '67 borders and to live side by side with the State of Israel."

Israel-Palestine Analysis: Time for a Complete Halt of the West Bank Settlements?

Israel-Palestine Video: Obama “Additional Settlements are Dangerous”
Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements

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Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Washington visit, the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Committee approved the construction plan for an additional 900 new housing units beyond the Green Line. Questions remains over the timing and actors in this decision: is the Netanyahu Government involved? And, if so, is this primarily a message to Washington that Israel is not weak or is it prompted by internal politics, trying to consolidate opposition to any demands of the Obama Administration?

There is another possibility: the approval of the additional 900 housing units may be a harbinger of a halt to expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, at least temporarily. Before declaring that halt, Netanyahu is seeking space for a guarantee that East Jerusalem will not be item in future discussions.  If Jerusalem is non-negotiable, then Israel will not build as Arabs offer gestures of "normalization". If this is not conceded, then Israel will resume settlement construction.

On Wednesday, "left-wing" politician Yossi Beilin told Army Radio that Netanyahu is soon going to announce a complete freeze in West Bank settlement construction for 10 months. Israeli officials have not responded to this claim.

Israel-Palestine Video: Obama "Additional Settlements are Dangerous"

Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements
Israel-Syria-Palestine: Sarkozy the Mediator?

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President Barack Obama spoke to Fox News on Wednesday and called Israel's decision to expand settlements in East Jerusalem "dangerous".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1GFgvzT7Y8[/youtube]

Obama said:

The situation in the Middle East is very difficult, and I've said repeatedly and I'll say again, Israel's security is a vital national interest to the United States, and we will make sure they are secure.

I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security. I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbors. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous.

Israel-Syria-Palestine: Sarkozy the Mediator?

Middle East Talks: Netanyahu-Sarkozy Alliance To Exclude Turkey?
Syria: Assad Interview with France 2 TV

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Is French President Nicolas Sarkozy stepping in as the "honest broker" for Israel-Syria talks? In Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit, Sarkozy --- who has just met with Syrian President Bashir al-Assad and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu in separate meetings --- said: "The deadlock that we find ourselves in today is very worrying. I told both Assad and Netanyahu that France is ready to facilitate a restart of the talks if both parties thought we could help in this effort."

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was in Amman on Tuesday for talks with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. On Wednesday, he is going to Israel to hold a meeting on the prospect of peace talks.