Snap US push for Mideast peace shakes up old foes

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Snap US push for Mideast peace shakes up old foes
by Barry Parker
,br/>

JERUSALEM (AFP) – The Gaza war over, Israel has switched to election mode but the new US president has not waited for the February 10 vote to launch an "aggressive" initiative to revive moribund Mideast peace talks.

If latest polls prove right, the general election will return former prime minister Benajmin Netanyahu to the top job, leading a coalition of hardliners whose vision of peace ill-fits Palestinian and even US aspirations.


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Gaza-war-Gaza-Strip/photo//090124/pho...
Palestinian youthes play on the rubble of an Israeli-bombed residential building in Rafah on the Gaza - photo


And the Palestinians themselves are in turmoil, deeply divided between the secular Fatah leadership of the rump Palestinian Authority on the West Bank and the Islamist Hamas movement on the Gaza Strip.

The peace process has yet to figure as a major issue in Israel's election campaign where the economy and security issues after the Gaza Strip intervention have taken the front stage.

But Obama's vow on his first day in office to "actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians" made a powerful impact.

Washington's Middle East envoy former senator George Mitchell had hardly been appointed before he was ordered to the region as soon as possible to ensure a "durable" and "sustainable" ceasefire in Gaza after Israel's deadly 22-day assault.


Palestinian leaders admitted their surprise at the speed with which Obama moved and delight at being, what they said, was the first port of call for the new president.

Palestinian chief negotiator Ahmad Qorei saw: "A sign of the importance that the new administration is giving to the Palestinian problem."

A spokesman for the embattled Palestinian president said Mahmud Abbas hoped that Mitchell's imminent arrival would bring "the change needed for a new start in the peace process leading to the creation of a Palestinian state."

The 75-year-old US envoy authored a 2001 report which called for a freeze of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from West Bank towns.

Nonetheless, Israel's foreign ministry welcomed Mitchell as well as Obama's wake-up call and pledge to "engage actively" in peace negotiations.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni went on to tell US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- who has promised "relentless" diplomatic efforts for peace -- that talks with the Palestinians should resume as soon as possible.

President George W. Bush's efforts to promote a two-state solution climaxed in November 2007 peace talks which made little visible progress.

However Livni's ruling Kadima party may suffer a setback in the upcoming elections, with weekend polls giving the centrist party 24-25 seats, against 29 in the current parliament.

Netanyahu's hawkish Likud party is tipped to head the next government in a right-wing coalition including the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, which has advocated the expulsion of Arab citizens.

In coalition with Jewish religious parties and Yisrael Beitenu, a Likud-led bloc would secure a majority of 62-63 seats, Friday's polls said.

No one wants to fall out with the new US president and spin doctors have tried to put a gloss on Netanyahu's past record.

The Likud chairman has said he will have no problem with Barack Obama's administration, which favours a two-state solution with security guarantees for Israel.


But Netanyahu has remained vague on the peace process saying he supports broad autonomy for the Palestinians and strengthening the West Bank economy, yet he opposes the creation of a state with real sovereign powers.