TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PROCHE-ORIENT | L’émissaire de Washington, George Mitchell, a rencontré hier à Jérusalem le premier ministre Netanyahou.
«Nous avons eu une rencontre très positive», a assuré hier l’envoyé spécial américain pour le Proche-Orient, George Mitchell, après ses entretiens à Jérusalem avec le premier ministre israélien, Benjamin Netanyahou. Mais rien n’y fait: le désaccord persiste sur la poursuite de la colonisation juive en Cisjordanie, y compris à Jérusalem-Est.
Mitchell exige un gel total, préalable indispensable à «une paix globale au Proche-Orient», incluant Israéliens, Palestiniens, Syriens et Libanais. Netanyahou, lui, affirme œuvrer à cet objectif, et pourrait envisager «un gel temporaire», mais espère en contrepartie «des gestes» de normalisation de la part des pays arabes. >>> Ouri Daniel | Mercredi 29 Juillet 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has asked Arab countries to make confidence-building gestures towards Israel in the hope that they could kick-start the peace process.
The White House has asked at least seven Arab countries to consider what they might do in return for an Israeli pledge to freeze construction of settlements in the West Bank.
The US administration is reaching out to moderate Arab countries in the region to inject some momentum into efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Jonathan Rynhold, a London-born expert in US-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan University, said the White House was likely to have contacted Morocco, Bahrain, and other Gulf states.
The Americans are thought to be asking for the opening of trade offices, flight routes between the countries and cultural exchanges.
Mr Rynhold said: “It does serve as an umbrella strategically if the Palestinians want to move forward.” Washington hopes such moves will encourage Israel to reconsider their plans to continue construction for what officials term “the natural growth” of existing settlements.
But the efforts to reach out to the Arab countries are understood to have left administration officials frustrated so far. Most notably, Mr Obama left his recent visit to Saudi Arabia without any such promises in hand. George Mitchell, the US envoy to the Middle East, met Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on Tuesday in another attempt to end the deadlock between the countries over the issue. >>> Dina Kraft in Tel Aviv | Tuesday, July 28, 2009
