Sound The Trumpet : Diplomatic Coup for PA: Obama Invites Abbas

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“Diplomatic Coup for PA: Obama Invites Abbas”
by Arutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
April 25th, 2010

Obama Invites Abbas to US PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has scored a diplomatic coup with an invitation from U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Washington as media analysts conclude that the president is toning down his criticism of Israel.

One day after the invitation reportedly was delivered, Abbas urged President Obama on Saturday to impose on Israel the acceptance of a new PA state based on its demands. Meanwhile, U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday morning, both of whom issued positive statements on the background of no real achievements except to agree to further talks.

Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the PA said that Abbas will visit Washington next month, but other PA officials said that the trip depends on Israel’s accepting American-backed PA demands.

President Obama officially has not imposed on Israel the conditions for the establishment of a new Arab state within the current borders of the Jewish State. However, his administration in the past year has gradually adopted most of the PA's demands, bypassed PA commitments to halt incitement and violence against Israel, and demanded that Israel stop building for Jews in united Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

Israel fears that doing so would be a de facto division of the capital.

In a speech to Fatah party officials in Ramallah on Saturday, Abbas said, "Mr. President and members of the American administration, since you believe in [an independent PA state], it is your duty to take steps toward a solution and to impose this solution.”

The U.S. State Department has stated that the United States would not impose its own solution “for the time being.”

Israel continues to be on the defensive in the PA-American diplomatic maneuvers. Following several weeks of unprecedented public condemnation of Israel by the Obama administration, Mitchell called Sunday morning’s discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu “productive and positive. He added that he will return to the region next week for more discussions.

Reporters covering the State Department have grown increasingly skeptical of American efforts to bring the PA and Israel together. One journalist sarcastically asked U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley on Friday, “So what grand accomplishments has he [Mitchell] come up with in his meetings so far?”

Crowley responded with the routine answer that “we [are] trying to move the parties to a point where they agree to proximity talks and to begin to address the substance, the core issues of the process, but there’s still work to do.”

He added, “If you’re signaling are we expecting a breakthrough through on this visit, probably not.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu told the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday morning that Israel has been and continues to be prepared to begin direct talks with the PA immediately. Abbas has held out for acceptance of a halt to building for Jews in parts of Jerusalem where it claims sovereignty. The areas include the Temple Mount area and Western Wall, as well as the neighborhoods of Ramot, French Hill among others.

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