On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mideast special envoy George Mitchell will meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
Following the meetings in Washington, Mitchell will travel on Sunday to Paris and Brussels for meetings with his counterparts from the “Quartet” of Middle East peacemakers (the US, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia )and European diplomats before a forthcoming visit to the region.
During his Europe visit, Mitchell expected carry letters of “guarantees” outlining the US position to both Palestine and Israel. According to these “guarantees”, Washington will consider the Palestinian demand for a return to the pre-1967 borders s and a full halt to expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jeruslaem. Israel’s concern over retention of sovereignty over some of its settlements and a limited “right of return” of Palestinians into Israel will also be guaranteed by Washington. Read the rest of this entry »
One PA official stated that Netanyahu was now apparently ready to recognize the pre-1967 borders as the basis for future talks and was ready to swap territory between the two countries. He added, “We’re beginning to hear new things from Israel. For the first time an Israeli government is willing to negotiate with us on the basis of the 1967 borders, and this is an encouraging move.”
“Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could be relaunched as early as February,” added another PA official in Ramallah.
Meanwhile, Egyptian sources told the Cairo-based daily Al-Ahram on Monday that Barack Obama’s administration will put forward a plan whereby Israel would commit itself to the establishment of a Palestinian state within two years of the launch of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. Read the rest of this entry »
On Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “I can’t talk about details, but the prime minister was discussing positions that surpass in our estimate what we’ve heard from them in a long time. I can’t say that he has come with changed positions, but he is moving forward.”
Are we getting glimpses of an emerging picture, one which will be completed when Egypt brings Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to the negotiating table?
On Thursday, Netanyahu called for a meeting with Abbas later in January at the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. ”There is a possibility of a breakthrough surrounding the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority which was proposed during Netanyahu’s talks with Mubarak,” senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said. Read the rest of this entry »
Eleven days ago, former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin told the Meretz Party leadership that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was close to finalizing an agreement with the Obama administration for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, envisaging a two-state solution based on 1967 borders:
* Timetable: Netanyahu is willing to accept the U.S. proposal to allot 24 months to talks, but does not want to announce that the goal is to reach a deal by the end of that period.
* Borders: Netanyahu has agreed that the goal of the talks is to end the conflict on the basis of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders, the exchange of agreed-upon territory, and a Jewish state with recognized and secure borders that will meet Israel’s security needs.
* Jerusalem: Netanyahu has agreed that the status of Jerusalem will be discussed in the negotiations, but has not agreed to any preconditions on the issue.
* Refugees: Netanyahu said he was willing to discuss the refugee issue only in a multilateral framework.
* Previous agreements: Netanyahu is willing to commit to all previously-signed agreements.
* Arab Peace Initiative: Netanyahu is not willing to support the plan, but is willing to say both sides are taking into consideration international initiatives, including this one, that contribute to the advancement of the peace process. Read the rest of this entry »
Trouble in Cairo: the Egyptian Government has been facing criticism for its opposition to the entry of 1400 international members of the Gaza Freedom March into the territory and its construction of an iron wall between the border of Gaza and Rafah in Egypt, trying to prevent smuggling tunnels under the 14-kilometre (9-mile) frontier.
On 22 December, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit defended the wall as a defense “against threats to national security“. Eight days later, he reiterated, “What Egypt is doing is placing structures on its territory related to Egyptian defense.” Meanwhile, Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, endorsed the government’s security measures in northern Sinai and along the border.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from meetings in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Netanyahu said, “I was very encouraged by the commitment of President Mubarak toward promoting the peace process between us and the Palestinians. I expect and hope to see such readiness on part of the Palestinian Authority.”
In Cairo, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit praised Netanyahu and his proposal on restarting peace talks with the Palestinians. despite the Israeli decision to build 700 more apartments in East Jerusalem. Gheit said, “I can’t talk about details, but the prime minister was discussing positions that surpass in our estimate what we’ve heard from them in a long time. I can’t say that he has come with changed positions, but he is moving forward.”
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit spoke to the public after a meeting they had with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
A day earlier, Egyptian Foreign Minister was asking for guarantees for Palestinians and was warning all sides “not to waste time”, even as Clinton was playing up “unprecedented concessions” by Israel on settlements. At the conference, this translated into an amiable exchange of Gheit’s satisfaction with Washington’s “unchanged” position and Clinton’s repetition of her rhetoric “calling both sides on the negotiation table.” Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mideast special envoy George Mitchell will meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
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Following claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 
On Tuesday, 
Eleven days ago, 
Trouble in Cairo: the Egyptian Government has been facing criticism for its opposition to the entry of 1400 international members of the Gaza Freedom March into the territory and its construction of an iron wall between the border of Gaza and Rafah in Egypt, trying to prevent smuggling tunnels under the 14-kilometre (9-mile) frontier.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from meetings in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit spoke to the public after a meeting they had with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
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