A Tipping Point for Middle East Peace
Posted on 05/17/2011 @ 12:00 PM
The eyes of much of the world are on Washington this week, waiting to hear what President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II will say with respect to the “Arab Spring” and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. King Abdullah meets President Obama today at the White House to convey an Arab perspective on the momentous beginnings of change in recent months across North Africa and the Middle East. On Friday, Prime Minister Netanyahu will get his turn to convey his thinking to President Obama. Following his meeting with the president, he will deliver the keynote address to the May 22-24 annual AIPAC policy conference, and then address a joint session of Congress on May 24. President Obama, House Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Reid, House Majority Leader Cantor and other political leaders are also scheduled to address the AIPAC gathering.
On the eve of the Prime Minister’s addresses to AIPAC and Congress, the House is expected next week to take up a resolution condemning the recent unity agreement between Palestinians, rejecting efforts to have the United Nations recognize a Palestinian state next fall, and reaffirming US support for a two-state solution. And, in the midst of the various meetings, President Obama is scheduled to deliver a major speech anticipated to be an outreach to the Muslim world building on his 2009 Cairo speech and providing his perspective on the “Arab Spring” and perhaps on the killing of Osama bin Laden. Whether the president will say anything significant in terms of Palestinian-Israeli peace is reportedly the subject of intense debate among the President and his senior advisors.
The Washington visits, the President’s speech and the House action come in the wake of the May 13th resignation of Special Envoy George Mitchell. Speculation as to the timing of his resignation is rife. It appears that, after two-plus very frustrating years that have seen little to no progress in bilateral negotiations to reach the vision of an Israeli and a Palestinian state co-existing in peace with justice, Mitchell has reached the conclusion that the Obama Administration is unwilling to take the bold steps necessary to realize this decades-old vision that lies at the core of a more comprehensive Middle East peace.
It is critical that President Obama step up now and take bold initiatives towards peace in the Middle East. If he does not, the United States and the Quartet risk becoming even less relevant to the peace process than they already are. An absence of bold action and concrete proposals by the United States at this time greatly increases the risk that violence will once again overtake the impressive, growing nonviolent movement resisting Israeli occupation and promoting the aspirations of the Palestinian people for political unity and self-determination. FCNL is not alone in making this urgent call to President Obama for bold and concrete steps forward at this critical time. Read, for example, what Americans for Peace Now, J Street, and Churches for Middle East Peace have to say.
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