All Things Considered

U.S. To Renew Push For Israeli-Palestinian Peace

By Michele Kelemen

Published January 8, 2010 4:01 PM

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making a new push to revive peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, describing this as a "year of renewed commitment and increased effort toward what we see as an imperative goal for the region and the world."

Clinton met Friday with visiting foreign ministers from two Arab countries that recognize Israel, Jordan and Egypt, and said there is a sense of urgency.

"There is a hunger for a resolution of this matter, a two-state solution that would rebuke the terrorists and the naysayers, that would give the Palestinians a legitimate state for their own aspirations and would give the Israelis the security they deserve to have," Clinton said after her meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

The Obama administration's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is preparing for another trip to the region and is expected to bring letters of guarantees on how long negotiations should last and what issues they should cover. Mitchell told The Charlie Rose Show on PBS this week that talks should take no longer than two years and could be finished sooner.

Judeh said his country wants to see clear deadlines and benchmarks. "We've had too much process and not enough peace. What we don't need in the region right now is another open-ended process that leaves issues unresolved and that leaves loose ends without being tied," he said.

The Obama administration hit a rut last year after failing to persuade Israel to halt construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians said they would not return to talks without a halt.

In November, Israel agreed to a partial and temporary moratorium on construction, but that does not include east Jerusalem, part of the city that Palestinians hope will one day be their capital.

Jordan's foreign minister warned that Jerusalem could be a dangerous flashpoint.

Clinton also raised that concern, but made clear Friday that she would like to see Israelis and Palestinians start their negotiations on the issue of borders.

"Resolving borders resolves settlements. Resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements. So I think we need to lift our sights. And instead of looking down at the trees, we need to look at the forest," she said.

Clinton said the Obama administration wants to meet the Palestinian goal of having a viable independent state based on the borders that existed before the 1967 war — but with agreed upon "land swaps" with Israel, which wants to maintain settlements in the West Bank. She also said the administration must meet the Israeli goal of security within its boundaries.

Before Mitchell travels to the region, he plans to visit Europe to build up international support for a new peace process.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit added to the sense of urgency.

"We are coming to try to regenerate enough energy and to create enough momentum for a peace effort," he told reporters in Washington. "And it is crucial that we would win and that we would succeed and bring the parties [together] on a proper basis."

View Transcript

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

And I'm Melissa Block.

The Obama administration is making a new push to revive peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with her counterparts from Jordan and Egypt, and the administration's Middle East envoy is heading back to the region soon.

NPR's Michele Kelemen has the latest.

MICHELE KELEMEN: Secretary Clinton says, for the Obama administration, 2010 is a year of renewed commitment and increased effort to re-launch talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Secretary HILLARY CLINTON (Department of State): There is a hunger for a resolution of this matter, a two-state solution that would rebuke the terrorists and the naysayers, that would give the Palestinians a legitimate state for their own aspirations and would give the Israelis the security they deserve to have.

KELEMEN: The Obama administration's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is preparing for another trip to the region and he's expected to bring fresh ideas on how long negotiations should last, if they resume, and what issues they should include. He told "The Charlie Rose Show" on PBS this week that talks should take no longer than two years and could be finished sooner than that.

At the State Department today, Jordan's Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, said from the Arab world's perspective, there have to be clear deadlines and benchmarks if this peace process is to actually yield results.

Mr. NASSER JUDEH (Foreign Minister, Jordan): Some deadlines have to be put on the table. And these deadlines help to serve the parties rather than present obstacles in the path towards peace. They help the parties put things in the right timeframe and the right perspective. We've said it in the past: We've had too much process and not enough peace. What we don't need in the region right now is another open-ended process that leaves issues unresolved and that leave loose ends without being tied.

KELEMEN: The Obama administration hit a rut last year after failing to persuade Israel to halt construction in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians said they wouldn't return to talks without that. Israel ended up agreeing to a partial and temporary moratorium on construction, but that doesn't include east Jerusalem, part of the city that Palestinians hope will one day be their capital.

Jordan's foreign minister warned that Jerusalem could be a dangerous flashpoint. Secretary Clinton agreed, but made clear, as she stood next to her Jordanian counterpart today, that she'd like to see Israelis and Palestinians start their negotiations on the issue of borders.

Secretary CLINTON: Resolving borders resolves settlements. Resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements. So I think we need to lift our sights. And instead of being - looking down at the trees, we need to look at the forest. You know, where are we headed together?

KELEMEN: She said the Obama administration wants to meet the Palestinian goal of having a viable state based on the borders that existed before the 1967 war with agreed land swaps and meet the Israeli goal of security within its boundaries. Clinton says there is a sense of urgency to all of this, which she heard in both her meetings with Arab officials today, including from Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit.

Mr. AHMED ALI ABOUL GHEIT (Foreign Minister, Egypt): We are coming to try to regenerate enough energy and to create enough momentum for a peace effort. And it is crucial that we would win, and we would succeed, and we would bring the process on a proper basis.

KELEMEN: The Obama administration's envoy, George Mitchell, is expected to bring the Israelis and Palestinians letters of guarantees that would outline the U.S. position, going into any new round of talks. First though, he's traveling to Europe to consult U.S. allies there and to build up international support for the peace process he hopes to be able to revive soon.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Source: NPR

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