Israeli Minister Dismisses Peace Effort

By ISABEL KERSHNER

Published: April 1, 2009

JERUSALEM — In a blunt and belligerent speech on his first day as Israel’s new foreign minister, the hawkish nationalist Avigdor Lieberman, declared Wednesday that “those who want peace should prepare for war” and that Israel was not obligated by understandings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached at an American-sponsored peace conference in 2007.

Hamas chief hails Obama approach

BBC NEWS

22 March 2009

The political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has credited US President Barack Obama with using a “new language” for the Middle East.

Speaking to an Italian newspaper Mr Meshaal also said that an official opening to his Palestinian Islamist movement was only “a matter of time”.

The interview was published three days after President Obama called for a “new beginning” in relations with Iran.

Iran and Syria, where Mr Meshaal is exiled, are key backers of Hamas.

Mr Obama’s video message to the Iranian leaders and people was seen as a major break with previous US policy.

But in response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded concrete policy changes from the US.

Clinton Wants to Include Iran in Afghan Talks

NEW YORK TIMES

07 March 2009

By MARK LANDLER

BRUSSELS — Setting up the prospect of its first face-to-face encounter with Iran, the Obama administration has proposed a major conference on Afghanistan this month that would include Iran among the invited countries, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.

“We presented the idea of what is being called a big-tent meeting, with all the parties who have a stake and an interest in Afghanistan,” she said at a news conference here after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited, as a neighbor of Afghanistan.”

Prodded by the United States, NATO’s 26 members also agreed to resume high-level relations with Russia, which were suspended in August after the war between Russia and Georgia.

The United States has asked the Netherlands to host the Afghanistan conference, which would take place on March 31, with the United Nations acting as chairman. Iran did not say on Thursday whether it would accept an invitation.

Tony Blair makes first trip to Gaza Strip

Times

James Hider, Middle East Correspondent

Tony Blair made his first visit to the Gaza Strip today, 18 months after being appointed the international community’s Middle East envoy and six weeks after Israel ended its devastating campaign against the Islamist-ruled enclave.

Gaza, ai palestinesi 4,4 miliardi di dollari dai Paesi donatori

Il Sole 24 Ore

Alla conferenza dei donatori a Sharm El Sheikh i palestinesi hanno ottenuto 4,481 miliardi di dollari per la ricostruzione della Striscia di Gaza. Lo si legge nella dichiarazione finale della conferenza internazionale.

Gli aiuti statunitensi alla Striscia di Gaza «non potranno essere svincolati dal processo di pace» ha sottolineato il segretario di Stato americano Hillary Clinton alla conferenza internazionale dei donatori.

Clinton’s delicate Mid-East tour

BBC NEWS

02 March 2009

By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Washington

Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt on Sunday evening for her first foray, as US secretary of state, into the complex politics of the Middle East.

While the main reason for her trip is to attend an aid conference for the reconstruction of Gaza in Sharm el- Sheikh, she will also meet Arab leaders on the sidelines of that meeting.

Mrs Clinton will then travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories to meet leaders from both sides and also students, during an event similar to the kind she held throughout her maiden trip to Asia.

America’s top diplomat is no stranger to the region and she will find some of the same actors on stage.

As first lady during Bill Clinton’s presidency, she came out early in support of a Palestinian state and, in some way, she will be picking up where her husband left off in 2000 when he failed to nail down a peace deal.

In 1999 an ill-timed embrace with Soha, wife of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, backfired at home as she campaigned to become a New York senator.

Mideast envoy Tony Blair visits Gaza

Mar. 1, 2009
JPost.com staff and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST

Mideast envoy Tony Blair visited Gaza on Sunday morning to discuss reconstruction efforts in the territory.

“I wanted to come to hear for myself first-hand from people in Gaza, whose lives have been so badly impacted by the recent conflict,” Blair said at a UN-run school in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun. “These are the people who need to be the focus of all our efforts for peace and progress from now on.”

Blair makes first visit to Gaza

BBC NEWS

1 March 2009

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, now Middle East envoy, has arrived in Gaza for his first visit.

At a UN school near the crossing with Israel, he is to meet business leaders and the UN director of operations in Gaza, John Ging.

The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen said they would discuss how to repair parts of the territory damaged in the recent war.

Mr Blair was appointed Middle East representative of the European Union, Russia, the UN and the US in June 2007.

The school he is visiting is in Izbet Beit Hanoun, in the north of the territory, and is run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which works with Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian Rivals Talk Peace in Egypt

NEW YORK TIMES

26 February 2009

By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY and ISABEL KERSHNER

CAIRO — The rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah began long-awaited reconciliation talks here under Egyptian auspices on Thursday, adding another twist to an already complex political situation as President Obama’s Middle East envoy arrived in Israel to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The envoy, George J. Mitchell, is on his second trip to the region in a month, part of “ongoing efforts” to “actively and aggressively” advance Israeli-Palestinian peace, according to American officials.

The Palestinian talks in Cairo were the first since Hamas, the Islamic militant group, took control of Gaza in June 2007, routing the Palestinian Authority forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of the mainstream, secularist Fatah. The Hamas takeover came after a brief but brutal factional war in Gaza in which scores of Palestinians were killed.

‘We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land’

NEW YORK TIMES

17 February 2009

By JIMMY CARTER

Storm Over a Book

First Chapter

I am writing another book about the Middle East because the new president of the United States is facing a major opportunity — and responsibility — to lead in ending conflict between Israel and its neighbors. The time is now. Peace is possible.

The normal path to resolving conflicts in this regional tinderbox should be through political leaders in Israel, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, with assistance when needed from Egypt, other Arab nations, and the international community. Yet for the past fifty years the United States has been widely recognized as the essential interlocutor that can provide guidance, encouragement, and support to those who want to find common ground. Unfortunately, most leaders in Washington have not been effective in helping the parties find peace, while making it harder for other potential mediators in Europe, the Near East, and the United Nations to intercede.