DEBKAfile lifts fog from the Obama-Netanyahu balance sheet (Debka)

I am not sure this is true but it seems there are 2 ends hanging...One end: The un-rest situation in those 2 "States" that are deteriorating from day to day and the other end: Leaders seems taking longer time & shadowed under spectator's expectation.

But again, probably LONG TERM SOLUTION takes LONGER TIME to achieve...Let's wait till 4th June to determine this is true or just plain speculation...

DEBKAfile lifts fog from the Obama-Netanyahu balance sheet (Debka)
Almost a week after Israeli prime minister held his first talks with US president Barack Obama at the White House, last Tuesday, May 18, some of the fog obscuring their content is finally beginning to clear.

The White House was forced to rebut a major misapprehension, that the US president would use his June 4 speech in Cairo to launch a new Middle East peace plan.

There never was such a plan, DEBKAfile's Washington sources confirm. Once that misapprehension was removed, some of the subjects really discussed by the two leaders hoved into sight - or proved false.

For instance, Obama did not demand the repartition of Jerusalem; neither was he keen to pursue the Palestinian issue at all at this time. Most of all, he was after space to engage in negotiation with Tehran without the threat of a surprise Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear sites hanging over the talks.

Who then had an interest in running the false hare of an Obama Middle East plan?

1. At some point, the White House preferred unclarity to an admission that the president had backed away from his pressure on Israel to negotiate a two-state peace accord with the Palestinians. In fact, Obama was persuaded by his awareness that Palestinian divisions are too profound to hope for results. The "two-state" formula is applicable in the foreseeable future only to the Palestinians - Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip and Fatah which dominates the West Bank Palestinian Authority.

For now, the US president has decided practically that it would be better to stick to the less ambitious goals of developing the West Bank economy, its governing institutions and a security apparatus, exactly as advised by Netanyahu and special Middle East Quartet envoy former UK prime minister Tony Blair. If some day Tehran and Damascus decide to join forces with Washington – a diminishing prospect at present – the US president can go back to promoting a united Palestinian state alongside Israel.

But Obama is keen on developing an expanded road map to bring moderate Arab governments into the peace process with Israel and start introducing normal relations on a regional level.

It may be assumed that the US president and Israeli prime minister did not exhaust this burning issue in their initial, ice-breaking conversation and they will remain in touch. Furthermore, these moves remain to be hammered out in Washington and in follow-up talks with the Israelis. Meanwhile, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, a pivotal figure in this initiative, is rumored to be very ill after cancelling his visit to Washington.

2. Jordan's Abdullah II's advisers at court were responsible for planting the tale of a new Obama peace initiative to be purportedly unveiled on June 4. Its provisions, such as making Jerusalem the twin Palestinian-Israeli capital, were to be imposed on Israel.

This fairy story was picked up by Israel's often anti-Netanyahu media, although its source was dubious - the London-based Arabic al Quds al-Arabi, which is a platform for radical Muslim quarters such as Hamas. The fiction gained wings from the lack of authoritative information on the content of the face-to-face conversation between Obama and Netanyahu last Tuesday, May 18.

This forced White House spokesman Robert Gibbs to produce a damper. Friday, May 22, Gibbs said "I know there has been some conjecture that included in this speech will be some detailed comprehensive Mideast peace plan, and it is not the intention nor was it ever the intention of this speech."

He made it clear that Obama's words would deal with Washington's relations with the Muslim world.

3. The Israeli prime minister himself felt the need to keep hidden his concession of a six-month time limit for Washington's dialogue with Tehran. On the one hand, he persuaded Obama for the first time to accept a time limit for those talks; on the other, it is longer than Israel thinks safe,

DEBKAfile's Washington sources note that Netanyahu convinced the president to agree to an Iranian deadline while standing by his refusal to endorse Obama's "two state" solution of the Palestinian issue in return.

Still, he knew the deadline would be hard to sell at home, especially after Iran successfully test-fired its first accurate long-range surface to surface missile while he was still in Washington.

Obama and Netanyahu put a couple of safety valves put in place.

One of the two joint working groups they set up, headed by US national security adviser James Jones, will meet regularly to keep track of progress of the bilateral US-Iranian negotiations and report back to the White House and Jerusalem.

(The second team, headed by Middle East envoy George Mitchell, will be in charge of the Palestinian issue.)

It stand to reason that the US president and Israeli prime minister did not exhaust this burning issue in their initial, ice-breaking conversation and will remain in touch.

But Netanyahu may find it hard to explain why he promised no Israeli surprise attacks against Iran for six months – even though major disruptions loom: Lebanon's pro-Western government may be overthrown by its June 7 election or thereafter, Iranian long-range missiles introduced to the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Abbas' new Palestinian government in Ramallah collapse, and Tehran will continue its shock tactics.

To shift the focus from his consent to US diplomacy with Iran, Netanyahu spoke passionately about Jerusalem upon his return although, according to our sources, its status was not under assault at his White House talks.

"The flag that flies over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever,” he told yeshiva students.

And “Jerusalem was always ours, will always be ours, and will never again be divided,” he vowed at the annual Jerusalem Day state ceremony on Ammunition Hill, Jerusalem, honoring the soldiers who fell in the Six-Day War in 1967.
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Israel gov't too extreme to make peace - Syria's Assad (Reuters)

Just imagine: If you are living in the constant bombardment of loose missiles & uncertain when your relatives, neighbors or siblings might be the one getting the attack. How “aggressive” you will be to pursue Peace if can come across it?

I may not even be the right person to comment on this as I am fortunate enough not living in the conflict land but if you were to ask me…I will be even more aggressive in protecting my family or home.

But one thing I find it difficult is that human being is not a “compromise” type. They want to have “Something” first before agree to sit down and talk. If there is “no food on the table, then sorry, I am not interested”. They said, it takes a Big heart to be a Good leader but if you have big heart then you will be perceived as weak.

I know my post this time is full of contradiction but I do hope that one day we can see peace there…

Israel gov't too extreme to make peace - Syria's Assad (Reuters)
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cast doubt on Saturday on reaching Middle East peace under what he termed as an "extreme" Israeli government but did not rule out resuming talks with the Jewish state.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gestures during the opening of the 36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Damascus May 23, 2009.
"The failure of the peace process so far has clearly shown that Israel is the obstacle ... How can a state that was founded on illegal occupation and continues to murder the original inhabitants work toward peace?" Assad said

How can a country that has chosen the most extreme government in its history be a partner for peace?" he added.

Assad, who was addressing a foreign ministers' meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), was referring to the Israeli government of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which took office two months ago.

"We the Arab nations, and especially Syria will not change our view about peace as a strategic goal, including the full return of occupied lands," Assad said in the Syrian capital.

Syria, which along with Iran supports the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, held four rounds of Turkish mediated indirect talks with Israel in 2008 that were formally suspended during the Israeli invasion of Gaza in December.

Damascus was among the most vocal critics of the invasion, which enhanced its position as a self-declared champion of Arab rights, to the ire of the U.S. backed governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attended the OIC meeting and separately met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in exile in Syria, at the Russian embassy.

Lavrov said that Russia believes in the need to maintain contacts with the Palestinian group, despite a cooling of ties between the two sides.

NO "GIFT" TO ISRAEL
Assad urged the 57-nation OIC not to offer Israel what he described as concessions, hinting at remarks by Jordan's King Abdullah that U.S. President Barack Obama was promoting a Middle East peace plan that could involve normalisation of ties between Israel and all Muslim nations.

Obama is due to address the Muslim world from Egypt in June, but Egypt's foreign minister did not attend the OIC meeting in the Syrian capital.

"Israel must not be rewarded for its crimes. Any progress on relations, if they exist, must be tied to Israel committing to a just and comprehensive peace, restoring the legitimate rights and withdrawing from the lands it occupies," Assad said.

Syrian political commentator Marwan Kabalan told al-Jazeera Television that Assad's aim was to make sure Obama's speech on June 4 does not leave Syria, which advocates a tough line against Israel, appearing isolated.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC secretary general, said that Muslim countries "cannot offer Israel a gift with Israel refusing to accept international resolutions and the rights of the Palestinian people."

Obama has sought to assure Muslims that the United States was not at war with them but U.S. support for Israel does not go down well with most Muslim countries, which largely avoid ties with Israel.

U.S. officials told their Syrian counterparts this month that Obama, who has placed Middle East peace high on his agenda, was committed to seeking a deal between Syria and Israel, in contrast to a less enthusiastic position by his predecessor George W. Bush.

Netanyahu offered after meeting Obama on Wednesday to restart the talks with Syria without conditions. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said any resumption would be useless without an Israeli commitment to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied for the last 42 years.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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