Israeli Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman
in Rome today (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
in Rome today (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
The day before Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other Israeli leaders set off to make a series of diplomatic meetings with European and American officials, Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said,The government of Israel, because of our democratic tradition and because of the continuity principle, is going to abide by all previous commitments the former government took, including the acceptance of the road map to peace which will lead to a two-state solution.President Shimon Peres is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama tomorrow.
Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit Washington later this month. While Ayalon's statement is the most explicit one yet in terms of signaling an Israeli commitment to peace negotiation, no high official has endorsed Palestinian statehood. Lieberman himself avoided saying anything about the prospects of Palestinian statehood today. Some speculate Netanyahu will concede a Palestinian state is inevitable to President Obama, but will suggest it is only likely in the distant future given Palestinian developmental needs and institutional problems. Israeli President Shimon Peres believes Netanyahu will be the Israeli leader to make peace with the Palestinian Authority.
This statement could be seen as the result of a shifting political currents. In March, European Union foreign ministers said that the bloc's ties with Israel might suffer if Israeli government ditches the two-state principle for ending the conflict. Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters, "I reminded minister Lieberman that Europe and the United States agree on the importance of making peace our common goal."
The United States has made clear it will work towards a two-state solution. Also, it backs in principle the Palestinian Authority's demand that Netanyahu support a two-state solution. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he will tell Obama when they meet later this month that resuming peace talks will be conditioned on this.
Ayalon's further comments stressed what Israel is increasingly seeing as the fundamental issue, Iran. Many diplomats speculate that this message will not be received warmly by the Obama administration.
The current American government sees Palestinian statehood as a key to building an effective coalition against Iran. "President Obama views the region as a whole, and trying to isolate each problem does not reflect reality," a senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the American policy was still in formation, told the New York Times. "It will be a lot easier to build a coalition to deal with Iran if the peace process is moving forward."
Two key Israel lobby pundits foresee Iran and also the settlements as two likely areas of deep disagreement between Israel and the United States. Iran's fate may ultimately be non-negotiable for Israel. Michael Oren, Israel's new ambassador to the United States, told the AIPAC conference this past weekend that "Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons."
HEADLINES
Hamas open to Israel-Syria negotiations (United Press International)
UN to probe Israel's torture record (Jerusalem Post)
Abbas: US to back Palestine in talks with Israel (PRESS TV)
Abbas to press Obama for two-state deal (AFP)
Israel picks US immigrant for new Washington envoy (Reuters)
AIPAC delegates to lobby for two-state solution (Jerusalem Post)
Tens of thousands of Palestinians risk losing homes: UN (AFP)
Spanish court to probe Gaza bombing (CNN International)
Israel 'ups questioning of Gaza patients' (AFP)
Palestine and the Palestinians
Poll: Palestinians divided over unity dialogue (Xinhua)
The Jerusalem municipality hands out more demolishing orders to Palestinian-owned homes (IMEMC)
Palestinian on death row: traitor or sacrificial lamb? (Toronto Star)
Palestinians demonstrate against Susiya settlement expansion (ISM Palestine)
Nazareth Hopes Pope's Visit Will Boost Tourism (Washington Post)
Israeli settler bulldozes Palestinian orchards near Bethlehem (IMEMC)
Settlers fire on Palestinian village (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
IDF shoots, wounds Palestinian near border fence (Ynetnews)
The Israeli military kidnaps ten Palestinians during invasions targeting West Bank communities (IMEMC)
3 Palestinians wounded in Israeli air strikes on S Gaza (Xinhua)
Israel
Israel Faces a Hard Sell in Bid to Shift Policy (New York Times)
FM Lieberman off to Europe (Jerusalem Post)
Livni: On Iran, there's no opposition (Jerusalem Post)
Poll: 66 percent of Israeli Jews back attack on Iran (Ha'aretz)
Israel Ramps Up Preparations for Iran Attack (Atlantic Online)
More Israeli Concerns Over Changing US Policy (CBS News)
Rabbis urge Israel to limit foreign wives (AFP)
Israel Dismisses Spanish Probe Into Gaza Attack - Official (NASDAQ)
Rafi Eitan: Israel will face another war in Gaza within a year (Jerusalem Post)
Yishai vows to settle Jews in east Jerusalem (Ynetnews)
Diaspora Jews' Israel real estate purchases plummeted in 2008 (Ha'aretz)
GPO: Downgrading Israel's press-freedom ranking 'ridiculous' (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Loses Prized 'Free' Press Status; Kuwait Tops Arab World (The Media Line)
World Press Freedom Day: Israel drops to 'partly free' (Ma'an News Agency)
The Neighbors
Israel considers pullout from Lebanon border village (Reuters)
US Foreign Policy
Gingrich tells 'Post': Obama is endangering Israel (Jerusalem Post)
Pentagon chief looks to soothe Saudi fears over Iran diplomacy (Ha'aretz)
Gates: Arab Allies Should Not Worry About Possible US-Iran Reapprochement (Voice of America)
Christian supporters of Israel gather in Washington (Jerusalem Post)
Rice: Palestinian elections were right policy (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Gates Trip Aims to Reaffirm Ties With Egypt, Saudi Arabia (eNews Park Forest)
White House links Iran nukes to Palestinian state (Israel Today)
International Relations/Law
Frattini urges stronger Israel-EU ties after meeting Lieberman (Jerusalem Post)
UN panel to probe Gaza war crime claims (United Press International)
UN experts discuss Gaza mission (BBC News)
Israeli focus on Iran may irk Obama (United Press International)
Pope says he's ‘pilgrim of peace' to Mideast (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Ahmadinejad: Germ of Zionism will be uprooted (Ynetnews)
Arts and Activism
'Lemon Tree' a hit outside director's homeland (San Francisco Chronicle)
The 23-year-old activist who became a lightning rod (Globe and Mail)
Packed house for provocative play (The Gazette)
Misc.
Calif.'s Harman Rails Against Wiretapping That Ensnared Her (Washington Post)
Israeli cartoon mocks Arab stereotypes (Baltimore Sun)
Commentary
Nimer Sultany: U.S. Lessons for Israel's Jim Crow (The Harvard Crimson)
Sally Bland: Israel's hyperregulation of Palestinian lives (Jordan Times)
Blogging from AIPAC: Times Change, the Cause Remains (The Jewish Journal of greater L.A.)
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