Middle East

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15 May 2009
Obama to Stress Two-State Solution with Netanyahu May 18

By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington — President Obama will welcome newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House May 18, beginning the first of three separate high-stakes consultations to refocus the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

After meeting with Netanyahu, Obama is scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on May 26 and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas two days later. Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians had resumed after the 2007 Annapolis Conference on Middle East peace, but sputtered to a halt last year.

“With each of them, the president will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships, as well as the steps all parties should take to help achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab states,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said after announcing the visits recently. “The president looks forward to welcoming key partners in the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”

The president made the Israeli-Palestinian peace process a high foreign-policy priority for his administration. Immediately after taking office in January, Obama named former U.S. Senator George Mitchell as the U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace. Since then Mitchell has made several visits to the region for bilateral talks, in part to determine where each side stands and to work with Egyptian leaders, who have been holding separate talks with Arab leaders and Israel.

The Obama administration is seeking a solution for Israeli-Palestinian peace that includes Palestinian statehood. On April 17, Mitchell told reporters at a press conference in Ramallah in the West Bank territories that any peace initiative must include this issue.

“The U.S. is committed to the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state where the aspirations of the Palestinian people to control their destiny are realized,” Mitchell said. Palestinian leaders also stressed in their meetings with Mitchell the need to urge Netanyahu to accept the notion of a two-state solution.

Vice President Biden said in a speech to the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on May 5 that “Israel has to work towards a two-state solution.” Biden also stressed, though, that “Israel’s security is non-negotiable. … Our commitment is unshakeable. … We will continue to defend Israel’s right to defend itself and make its own judgments about what it needs to do to defend itself.”

On May 11, Netanyahu held private meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Mubarak encouraged Netanyahu to make progress on the peace talks, which he said must include discussions of Palestinian statehood. On May 14, Netanyahu met with Jordanian King Abdullah II, who also urged him to commit to a two-state solution with the Palestinians as the only way to achieve a lasting Middle East peace. King Abdullah also urged Obama in an April 21 meeting in Washington to push for Palestinian statehood.

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