BOTH ISRAELI and Palestinian officials have stressed that tomorrows tripartite meeting, which will be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, does not constitute a resumption of stalled Middle East peace talks.
In a surprise move, Washington announced the three-way gathering, with the participation of president Barack Obama, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, saying prior to the meeting Mr Obama will meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders separately. The announcement followed the failure by the president’s envoy, George Mitchell, to clinch an agreement on an Israeli settlement freeze despite six days of shuttle diplomacy last week between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Israeli officials interpreted the decision to hold the summit as a significant diplomatic victory, stressing Jerusalem had not caved in to American pressure to declare a settlement freeze, a precondition set by the Palestinians for their participation at such a meeting.
An Israeli statement welcomed Washington’s decision “with enthusiasm”. An Israeli official described the meeting as “preliminary talks” to discuss conditions for renewing negotiations, stressing that no negotiations per se would take place in New York.
Mr Abbas also accepted the US invitation, but Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Radaineh stressed that substantive talks can only resume after an Israeli settlement moratorium and a commitment by Israel to discuss all the core issues, including the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
The Hamas prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, rejected the three-way talks, saying the Palestinian people will not be obligated by any decisions taken at the summit or ensuing talks.
Speaking at a sermon in Gaza yesterday, Mr Haniyeh said, “Neither the PLO nor anyone else can negotiate issues like Jerusalem, the borders or the refugees in the name of the Palestinians.”
Mr Mitchell said the decision to call the tripartite meeting was “another sign of the president’s deep commitment to comprehensive peace and that he wants to personally engage at this juncture, as we continue our efforts to encourage all sides to take responsibility for peace and to create a positive context for the resumption of negotiations.”
Mr Netanyahu on Friday agreed to a limited nine-month moratorium but insisted that construction of almost 3,000 units already under way in the West Bank continue. He also made it clear to the US envoy that Israel could accept no restrictions on building in Jerusalem. Just hours prior to the announcement of the three-way meeting, the Israelis and Palestinians were still busy blaming each other for the failure of the Mitchell mission.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yossi Levi said the Palestinian Authority was “preventing the resumption of the peace process by making conditions that it has not made in the past.” Mr Abbas blamed Israel for failing to commit to a settlement freeze. “The road is now blocked,” he told journalists in Cairo. “There is no more work with the western or Palestinian sides because we are complying with all our duties. The focus has to be on the Israeli side.”
Two Palestinian militants were killed yesterday from Israeli tank and mortar fire after they approached the Gaza Strip border fence. An Israeli military spokesman said it was believed the men were planning to plant explosives. Four other people were hurt. Palestinian sources identified the men as militants from Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees.
Earlier, two rockets fired from Gaza landed in an open area close to the Israeli town of Sderot.