WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s vow on his first day in office to “actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians” has already been activated.
Former Sen. George Mitchell had hardly been appointed before he was ordered to the region to ensure a “durable” and “sustainable” cease-fire in Gaza after Israel’s deadly 22-day assault earlier this month.
In his first week on the job, Washington’s newly appointed US envoy to the Middle East will head to the region, an indication of the urgency with which Obama intends to tackle the decades-old conflict.
At 75, Mitchell is widely considered up to the challenge, and left today for a one-week trip, according to the State Department. Mitchell is expected to fly to Cairo first, although the State Department said details of his trip “still were not finalized.”
Mitchell is scheduled to visit Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and, likely, Saudi Arabia. Syria is not on the schedule, according to reports, nor is there any meeting scheduled with Hamas leaders in Gaza. Palestinian leaders have admitted their surprise at the speed with which Obama moved. Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmad Qorei called it “a sign of the importance that the new administration is giving to the Palestinian problem.”
Israel’s Cabinet described Mitchell’s upcoming visit as a positive sign, too. Officials there have welcomed deeper US involvement in the peace process with the Palestinians.
But many Israeli analysts caution that Mitchell’s appointment could signal a shift away from the pro-Israel policies of Obama’s predecessor.
Over the years, Mitchell, a respected judge, legislator and negotiator, has been tasked by presidents to broker a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, explore paths to peace in the Middle East, and even chair a commission to investigate steroid use in Major League Baseball. “The conciliator” was the apt moniker given to Mitchell by one British newspaper.
But many experts warn that Mitchell will confront a Middle East today that is very different from what he dealt with eight years ago.
In his new role, Mitchell will once again be working with Tony Blair, who was British prime minister at the time of the Good Friday agreement. Blair now serves as Middle East envoy for the Quartet (the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia).
Mitchell won a reputation for evenhandedness in his first foray into Middle East peacemaking — in 2000 and 2001 — when he led a six-month fact-finding mission on the reasons behind a convulsion of Palestinian violence.
His follow-up report called for a freeze of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory and the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from West Bank towns.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the front-runner in Israel’s election next month, was quoted in the Israeli media as saying he would allow existing West Bank settlements to expand for “natural growth” — a policy likely to face opposition from the Palestinians and the new US administration.
Mitchell is expected to meet with Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, and focus on ways to revive peace talks in the wake of Israel’s recent offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Nearly all the illegal Israeli settlement construction over the past decade has taken place in existing West Bank communities.
Netanyahu’s positions do not significantly differ from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has allowed construction in existing settlements to continue even while holding peace talks with the Palestinians.
