Brussels, 21/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The American president Barack Obama appears not to have given up hope of relaunching the peace process. He has taken the politically risky gamble of inviting the Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to a meeting in New York on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The reason it is risky is that breakdown is not ruled out, after the failure, which was predicted by both Palestinian and the Israeli press, of the American Special Envoy, George Mitchell, to reconcile their points of view. In the opinion of Tony Blair, former British prime minister and representative of the Quartet (United States, EU, Russia and UN), as "confided" to the media, "Obama absolutely must act now. The longer he waits, the closer he will come to the end of his term in office when he will be disinclined to take any risks, for fear of not being re-elected to the White House".
Mr Mitchell left the region on Friday, having noted that the Israelis were quite steadfast in their refusal to freeze colony-building, which the Palestinian Authority has specified as a prior condition to the resumption of direct negotiations under the aegis of the Americans. Senator Mitchell was told that "the issue of ceasing colonisation will not be compromised on", as Saëb Erakat, the Palestinian negotiator, put it. Hamas immediately reminded Mr Abbas of the limits to the concessions he is able to make. The Israelis, who are sceptical, take the view that "conditions are not yet right for the resumption of negotiations, but this meeting is a step in the right direction", as the secretary to the government Zvi Herzog told the military radio, quoted in the international press. In spite of this, the American president will at least have succeeded in convincing the two protagonists to meet in New York. He will meet his guests separately, before a joint session aiming to "prepare the ground" for the relaunch of negotiations, according to a White House press release. Mr Obama is trying to "encourage all parties to take their responsibilities towards peace and to create a positive environment for the resumption of talks", as Mr Mitchell told the press.
Behind the scenes, the Europeans, in the person of Javier Solana, High Representative for the CFSP, are supporting the efforts of the White House and helping to prepare for a meeting of the Quartet, scheduled for the middle of this week in New York, a source close to the institutions has stated in Brussels, adding that Mr Solana and Mr Mitchell are in frequent touch. (F.B./transl.fl)