Defense Minister Ehud Barak told United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell at a Wednesday night meeting, “The relations between Israel and the U.S. are deep and close. We’re able and must arrive at a coordination and understanding in all subjects that are on the agenda.” They concluded their discussion around 9:00 p.m.
The Defense Minister updated Mitchell about the Middle East region’s general situation and reported Israel’s security challenges. Barak told Mitchell about Israel’s measures to improve the quality of life for PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria, including economic reform projects.
Mitchell has returned to the region and is making the rounds on his latest shuttle diplomacy effort to rejuvenate support for the flagging Israel-Palestinian Authority negotiations. He arrived in Israel Wednesday evening and is scheduled to hold his first official meeting with the Netanyahu government. The meeting is seen by both sides as pivotal as a means of establishing a baseline for future talks.
It will be Mitchell’s job to present to the Netanyahu administration the formal positions of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vis a vis the Israel-PA situation. He will also reportedly be listening closely to what government officials have to say, and is expected to bring back to Washington a full report on the new government’s agenda.
Recent statements by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman that the government may not be bound by the agreements reached in Annapolis in November 2007 have raised eyebrows in Washington.
In addition, concern is rising over Prime Minister Netanyahu's reluctance to refer to a "two-state solution" in any language used to discuss the Israel-PA situation; instead, the new prime minister has preferred to use the less specific term, "peace process."
Although this is Mitchell’s first trip to the region since the Netanyahu government was installed, he has been here twice before since his appointment as special envoy to the region, both times during former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s tenure.
Mitchell was spending Tuesday in Morocco. He flew to Israel for a meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday night after the Passover holiday concluded.
He is scheduled to meet on Thursday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and Kadima chairwoman and Knesset opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni.
Mitchell will travel to Ramallah on Friday to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as well. He will then travel to Cairo, Riyadh and other Arab cities in the region.
Jordanian King Abdullah II, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet in Washington with President Barack Obama and other top U.S. officials on April 21, the first Arab head of state to visit the Obama White House.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to arrive in Washington for talks sometime in mid-May, and has been invited by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to meet in June for talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.