Palestine: West Bank Leadership Scrambles to Regain Authority

Israel-Palestine: No Progress in Mitchell Tour

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The Palestinian Authority, trying to fend off increasing pressure over its deferral of the Goldstone Report at the United Nations Human Rights Council last week, called for a general strike in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Friday to protest Israel's "measures against the al-Aqsa Mosque" and asked the Human Rights Council to discuss both the Goldstone Report and the recent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli policemen in East Jerusalem .
On Friday, the Central Council of Fatah, the party of the Palestinian Authority leadership, called on the populace to mobilize "in defense" of al-Aqsa Mosque, protesting Israel's restrictions on access. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to the UN, said, "We deferred, so we were expecting that the Israelis should respect in some way human rights, but this act of aggression against people, against the human rights and humanitarian law, is unbelievable."

Israeli media, however, report that the Palestinian move will be blocked by the US, which is supposedly embarrassed by the situation. Israeli officials claim that the "number one topic" for US envoy George Mitchell during his meeting with Palestinian officials was to convince them not to pursue the initiative.

Obama's Nobel Prize: Reactions from the Israeli-Palestinian Front

Obama’s Nobel Prize: There’s Concerned…And Then There’s Stupid
Instant Reaction: Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Video/Transcript: Obama’s Reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize

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After U.S. President Barack Obama's winning Nobel Prize, leaders of Israel and Palestine expressed their feelings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed the hope that his presidency would "usher in a new era of peace." In a message to Obama, he said:

Congratulations on winning the Nobel Prize for Peace... You have already inspired so many people around the world, and I know that this award also expresses the hope that your Presidency will usher in a new era of peace and reconciliation.

Another Npbel Prize holder, Israeli President Shimon Peres, also sent Obama a letter congratulating his Nobel Prize. In his letter, he wrote:

Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intekllectual determination, and a feeling that there is a lord in heaven and believers on earth.

Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again.

You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction.

On the Palestinian front, Fatah welcomed the prize but Hamas was sceptical. The chief Palestinian peace negotiator, Saeb Erekat expressed hope that Obama "will be able to achieve peace in the Middle East". On the other hand, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said: "Obama has a long way to go still and lots of work to do before he can deserve a reward... Obama only made promises and did not contribute any substance to world peace... And he has not done anything to ensure justice for the sake of Arab and Muslim causes."

Israel-Palestine: No Progress in Mitchell Tour

Israel-Palestine: Mixed Reception for US Envoy Mitchell in Tel Aviv

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While US special envoy George Mitchell's latest tour of Israel and Palestine has not ended, it does not appear to have broken the deadlock over talks. A statement issued after the two-hour closed-door meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mitchell described the discussion as effective and constructive, but there was no indication of a change in the status of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

After his meeting with Netanyahu, Mitchell saw Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas reiterated demand for a full halt in settlements.

Mitchell told reporters that efforts to find a solution would continue, although at a lower level for the time being. He added: "We invited the two sides to send their representatives to Washington in the very near future to continue our discussions."

Middle East: European Union Partnership Deal With Syria?

Israel-Palestine: Mixed Reception for US Envoy Mitchell in Tel Aviv
Israel FM Lieberman: Distance from US, No Agreement with Palestine
Israel-Palestine: Sacrificing the Goldstone Report to the War of Politics

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It looks like the 30 August trip of Javier Solana, the head of the European Union's foreign policy, to Syria has had a significant and controversial outcome. An Israeli diplomatic source claims the EU will sign a partnership deal with Syria later this month:

Even if this deal is far from what Israel has with the European Union, this step is not in line with the European Union's policy on the subject of human rights."

This is a double message - with a country like Syria they further relations, but with Israel they freeze the uprgrade [referring to the freezing of a planned upgrade of relations between Israel and the EU earlier this year].

Israel-Palestine: Mixed Reception for US Envoy Mitchell in Tel Aviv

Israel FM Lieberman: Distance from US, No Agreement with Palestine
Israel-Palestine: Sacrificing the Goldstone Report to the War of Politics

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President Obama's special envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, is back in Israel. He  held talks with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President Shimon Peres on Thursday and is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today before moving to the West Bank to speak with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas this weekend.

Mitchell's visit comes midst increasing tension between Israelis and Palestinians over the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem and pressure on Abbas over the Goldstone Report on Gaza. The envoy did not refer to those events; instead, Mitchell told Peres of his hope that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians can be restarted soon and of Obama's commitment to bringing peace to the region. After Mitchell gave him the same message, Barak portrayed Israel as the "partner" of United States in the peace process, adding, "The time has come to move forward to start the process and pass all of the obstacles, because this will help everyone... No obstacle is impassable!"

But Barak's words were not echoed by Lieberman, who is calling for detachment from the US and ruling out peace with Palestine in the near-future: "I will tell [Mitchell] clearly, there are many conflicts in the world that haven't reached a comprehensive solution and people learned to live with it." Since it was not the right time for a final agreement, Lieberman suggested that Mitchell should focus on an interim accord, leaving "the tough issues for a much later stage".

Haaretz reports that a senior U.S. official told Israeli reporters that Mitchell's visit was not likely to conclude with an announcement of renewed talks. Israeli sources, however, said --- despite Lieberman's unhelpful intervention --- that this was "within reach."