THE FUTURE of Israeli-Palestinian peace contacts is in doubt only days after US envoy George Mitchell succeeded in getting the approval of both sides to start indirect proximity talks with American mediation.
A day after the first diplomatic breakthrough, following 14 months of deadlock, Israel revealed plans for the construction of 112 new homes in a West Bank settlement, and this was followed, a day later, by the announcement of 1,600 additional housing units in east Jerusalem.
Saeb Erekat, who was slated to head the Palestinian negotiating team, said yesterday: “We want to hear from Mitchell that Israel has cancelled the decision to build housing units before we start the negotiations.”
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologised to US vice-president Joe Biden over the fact that the timing of the new settlement construction coincided with his visit to the region, but there was no indication that Israel was considering halting, or even delaying, the construction.
In response to the Israeli plans, Arab League officials met in Cairo in emergency session on Wednesday night.
After speaking to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas by phone, Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said: “The Palestinian president decided not to enter these talks at this time. The Palestinian side is not willing to hold negotiations under the current circumstances.”
Despite the Palestinian anger, Mr Biden left Israel yesterday in an optimistic mood, telling al- Jazeera television that the proximity talks could develop into direct bilateral negotiations within four months, the deadline set by the Arab League for progress to be achieved.
In a speech at Tel Aviv university, Mr Biden gave no sign that Washington would press Israel to cancel the east Jerusalem project. He said Mr Netanyahu had assured him that construction at the site, an ultra orthodox neighbourhood, would not start for years, giving negotiators “time to resolve this and other outstanding issues”.
“The most important thing is for these talks to go forward and go forward promptly and go forward in good faith,” he said. “We can’t delay, because when progress is postponed, extremists exploit our differences.”
Before leaving for Jordan, the vice-president told the audience that the US has “no better friend” than Israel. He urged Israel to make a serious attempt to reach peace with the Palestinians, saying that a peace agreement was “profoundly” in Israel’s interests. “To end this historic conflict, both sides must be historically bold. If each waits stubbornly . . . this will go on for an eternity.”
The audience applauded as he explained that demographic realities make it difficult for Israel to be a Jewish homeland and a democratic country, concluding that “the status quo is not sustainable”.
He also tried to ease Israeli fears over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “The US is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Period.”
Mr Biden said Iran has refused to co-operate with the international community but he promised that Washington would keep up the pressure on Tehran to change course.