US PRESIDENT Barack Obama will speak about the Middle East peace process when he addresses the Muslim world from Cairo next week, but he will not outline a new peace plan. Speaking in the White House after a meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Obama said he wants to deliver a broader message about how the US can improve its relationship with Muslims.
“That will require, I think, a recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground.”
“I want to emphasise the importance of Muslim Americans in the United States and the tremendous contributions they make, something that I think oftentimes is missed in some of these discussions. But certainly the issue of Middle East peace is something that is going to need to be addressed.
“It is a critical factor in the minds of many Arabs in countries throughout the region and beyond the region. And I think that it would be inappropriate for me not to discuss those.” He declined to outline a timetable for Middle East peace talks, but he pointed out that, unlike his predecessor, he had moved within days of taking office to engage with the region.
Mr Obama repeated his demand that Israel must halt all settlement activity, despite this week’s declaration from Binyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government that it would ignore such pleas from the US.
Mr Obama played down Mr Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the settlements and his failure to endorse a two-state solution when he visited the White House last week.
“I think it’s important not to assume the worst, but to assume the best. And that conversation only took place last week. I think that we don’t have a moment to lose, but I also don’t make decisions based on just the conversation that we had last week because obviously prime minister Netanyahu has to work through these issues in his own government, in his own coalition, just as President Abbas has a whole host of issues that he has to deal with,” he said.
“But I’m confident that if Israel looks long-term – looks at its long-term strategic interests, that it will recognise that a two-state solution is in the interests of the Israeli people as well as the Palestinians. And certainly that’s how the United States views our long-term strategic interests.”
Mr Abbas said that he and Mr Obama agreed on the importance of negotiations based on final status issues such as borders, the right of exiled Palestinians to return and the future of Jerusalem.
“Obviously without discussing and negotiating permanent status issues there will be no progress. We know that all the six issues of permanent status were discussed with the previous Israeli prime minister Mr Olmert, and what is needed right now is to resume the discussions with the current Israeli government,” he said.
US public opinion favours a two-state solution and opposes Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Congress is resolutely opposed, however, to direct US negotiations with Hamas and Mr Obama praised Mr Abbas for insisting that the Islamist group must recognise Israel and renounce violence before it could join a Palestinian unity government.
“President Abbas, I think, has been under enormous pressure to bring about some sort of unity government and to negotiate with Hamas. And I am very impressed and appreciative of President Abbas’s willingness to steadfastly insist that any unity government would have to recognise the principles that have been laid by the Quartet. In the absence of a recognition of Israel and a commitment to peace, and a commitment to previous agreements that have already been made, it would be very hard to see any possibility of peace over the long term.”