Obama says he's not giving up on Mideast peace
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - President Barack Obama urged Israelis and Palestinians on Thursday to get back to peace talks but offered no new ideas on how they might do so, essentially abandoning his previous support of the Palestinian demand for Israel to halt settlement activity before negotiations resume.
In remarks likely to disappoint, if not infuriate, the Palestinians, Obama said the United States continues to oppose the construction of Jewish housing on land claimed by the Palestinians but stressed that issues of disagreement between the two sides should not be used as an "excuse" to do nothing.
"If the expectation is that we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time, then there is no point for negotiations, so I think it is important to work through this process even if there are irritants on both sides," Obama told reporters at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
"My argument is that even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, maybe engaging in activities that the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement," he said. "I think we can keep pushing through some of these problems and make sure that we don't use them as an excuse not to do anything."
Obama's comments echoed those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly called for the Palestinians to drop their preconditions for re-launching the stalled peace talks. The U.S. president's remarks are sure to reinforce deep skepticism among Palestinians about whether Obama is willing or able to use U.S. influence to press Israel into making concessions on a matter Palestinians have identified as a top priority.
Abbas and other Palestinian officials said they would not drop the demand, noting that much of the world considers the settlements to be outright illegal and not merely an impediment to peace talks.
"We require the Israeli government to stop settlements in order to discuss all our issues and their concerns," Abbas told the news conference, a marquee event during Obama's brief visit to the West Bank on the second day of his Mideast visit. "It's the duty of the Israeli government to stop the settlement activities to enable us to talk about the issues in the negotiations."
During his first four years in office, Obama had sided with the Palestinians on the issue. He and his surrogates repeatedly demanded that all settlement activity cease. However, when Israel reluctantly declared a 10-month moratorium on construction, the Palestinians balked at returning to the table until shortly before it expired and talks foundered shortly thereafter.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem - territories Israel captured in the 1967 war - but are ready for minor adjustments to accommodate some settlements closest to Israel. Since 1967, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are now home to 560,000 Israelis - an increase of 60,000 since Obama became president four years ago.
Obama said the U.S. remains opposed to settlements because "we do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace." Still, he added that internal Israeli politics "are complex and I recognize that is not an issue that's going to be solved immediately. It's not going to be solved overnight."
He did say that Palestinians deserve an independent and sovereign state and an end to occupation by Israel. He said the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state of Israel continues to exist if negotiations would restart.
"I absolutely believe that it is still possible, but I think it is very difficult," Obama said.
Even before Obama spoke with Abbas, several dozen Palestinians in downtown Ramallah protested against perceived strong U.S. bias in favor of Israel.
Obama "should take immediate action to stop settlement activity because the passivity of his position toward settlements is happening while the very last option of a two-state solution is being killed by Israeli settlements," said Mustafa Barghouti, a leading Palestinian activist.
A day earlier, Obama reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel's security and noted there had been no fatal attacks on Israelis last year from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas.
That calm has not extended to Gaza, which is run by the militant Islamic Hamas movement, and Obama said it would be helpful if rockets weren't still being launched into Israel. As Obama began his program Thursday, Israeli police said militants in Gaza had fired two rockets at southern Israel, causing property damage but no injuries.
One of the rockets exploded in the courtyard of a house in the town of Sderot early in the morning, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The other landed in an open field. Sirens wailed in Sderot shortly after the 7 a.m. rocket attack, forcing residents on their way to work or school to run to bomb shelters.
Obama condemned the action during his news conference with Abbas. As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited the border town, which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israel, prompting Israel, with considerable U.S. assistance, to develop its Iron Dome missile defense system, which it credits with intercepting hundreds of rockets.
Immediately after his arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured an Iron Dome battery at Ben Gurion International Airport in a vivid display of U.S. security assistance to Israel.
In Jerusalem earlier Thursday, while examining the Dead Sea Scrolls and during a tour of a high tech exhibit, Obama and Netanyahu continued the easy banter that the two leaders displayed on Wednesday. As Netanyahu read a facsimile of a scroll, Obama marveled that the Hebrew language had not changed much over the centuries.
In remarks likely to disappoint, if not infuriate, the Palestinians, Obama said the United States continues to oppose the construction of Jewish housing on land claimed by the Palestinians but stressed that issues of disagreement between the two sides should not be used as an "excuse" to do nothing.
"If the expectation is that we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time, then there is no point for negotiations, so I think it is important to work through this process even if there are irritants on both sides," Obama told reporters at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
"My argument is that even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, maybe engaging in activities that the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement," he said. "I think we can keep pushing through some of these problems and make sure that we don't use them as an excuse not to do anything."
Obama's comments echoed those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly called for the Palestinians to drop their preconditions for re-launching the stalled peace talks. The U.S. president's remarks are sure to reinforce deep skepticism among Palestinians about whether Obama is willing or able to use U.S. influence to press Israel into making concessions on a matter Palestinians have identified as a top priority.
Abbas and other Palestinian officials said they would not drop the demand, noting that much of the world considers the settlements to be outright illegal and not merely an impediment to peace talks.
"We require the Israeli government to stop settlements in order to discuss all our issues and their concerns," Abbas told the news conference, a marquee event during Obama's brief visit to the West Bank on the second day of his Mideast visit. "It's the duty of the Israeli government to stop the settlement activities to enable us to talk about the issues in the negotiations."
During his first four years in office, Obama had sided with the Palestinians on the issue. He and his surrogates repeatedly demanded that all settlement activity cease. However, when Israel reluctantly declared a 10-month moratorium on construction, the Palestinians balked at returning to the table until shortly before it expired and talks foundered shortly thereafter.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem - territories Israel captured in the 1967 war - but are ready for minor adjustments to accommodate some settlements closest to Israel. Since 1967, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are now home to 560,000 Israelis - an increase of 60,000 since Obama became president four years ago.
Obama said the U.S. remains opposed to settlements because "we do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace." Still, he added that internal Israeli politics "are complex and I recognize that is not an issue that's going to be solved immediately. It's not going to be solved overnight."
He did say that Palestinians deserve an independent and sovereign state and an end to occupation by Israel. He said the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state of Israel continues to exist if negotiations would restart.
"I absolutely believe that it is still possible, but I think it is very difficult," Obama said.
Even before Obama spoke with Abbas, several dozen Palestinians in downtown Ramallah protested against perceived strong U.S. bias in favor of Israel.
Obama "should take immediate action to stop settlement activity because the passivity of his position toward settlements is happening while the very last option of a two-state solution is being killed by Israeli settlements," said Mustafa Barghouti, a leading Palestinian activist.
A day earlier, Obama reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel's security and noted there had been no fatal attacks on Israelis last year from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas.
That calm has not extended to Gaza, which is run by the militant Islamic Hamas movement, and Obama said it would be helpful if rockets weren't still being launched into Israel. As Obama began his program Thursday, Israeli police said militants in Gaza had fired two rockets at southern Israel, causing property damage but no injuries.
One of the rockets exploded in the courtyard of a house in the town of Sderot early in the morning, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The other landed in an open field. Sirens wailed in Sderot shortly after the 7 a.m. rocket attack, forcing residents on their way to work or school to run to bomb shelters.
Obama condemned the action during his news conference with Abbas. As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited the border town, which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israel, prompting Israel, with considerable U.S. assistance, to develop its Iron Dome missile defense system, which it credits with intercepting hundreds of rockets.
Immediately after his arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured an Iron Dome battery at Ben Gurion International Airport in a vivid display of U.S. security assistance to Israel.
In Jerusalem earlier Thursday, while examining the Dead Sea Scrolls and during a tour of a high tech exhibit, Obama and Netanyahu continued the easy banter that the two leaders displayed on Wednesday. As Netanyahu read a facsimile of a scroll, Obama marveled that the Hebrew language had not changed much over the centuries.
...every fool who visit Israel can get a free Nobel Peace Prize,  ...what a foolish useless prize.  50 years and no peace and every tom, dick and harry gets $2 million prize for visiting a murderous state...  What peace?  Â
So THAT'S why he's giving F-16s, Abrams tanks, and billions to the Muslim Brotherhood.
So they can protect themselves from the Jews.
Got it...
@bobalouie Facts and truth are not your thing, are they?
I don't think there will be peace until the Israelis return home to Europe.
@IslandAtheist Since over a million Israelis came from different countries in the Middle East--they were refugees from Muslim pogroms and thrown out--and many Israelis also descended from Jews who never left Eretz Israel your comment is remarkably ignorant.
Giving up the peace or not,there is absolutely no way twe can do more if they never try......!
We don't belong over there being some kind of mediator. I'd say leave them both alone, but as soon as we do Israel is going to go nuts and launch nukes in a rage. They're all out of control and there's nothing we can do about it. Our support for Israel is nothing more than keeping them from destroying the world.Â
The peace-loving Palestinians probably did themselves no favors when firing rockets into Israel shortly after Obama speech, no?
I wonder where our gay friends would flourish best? Israel or Palestine? Ha! Trick question! There are no gay Muslims! Fooled ya!  Israeli Arabs are fleeing the concentration camp called Israel for the freedom of Gaza, Egypt, Syria and Jordan on a daily basis! Especially the Arab women seeking the right to vote. Right?Â
Most everybody agrees that a two-state solution is the answer. I wonder which group continues to oppose or refuses to negotiate without preconditions?
This is all they have between them.... (BREAKING NEWS) Ha!
http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Spy.jpg
I wonder if Obama has looked at a map of the region since, say, his drugging days at Occidental. If he had, he might have noticed that an Arab Palestine cannot be contiguous without splitting up the multi-cultural Israel.
So nice to have at least one sane person in on the Israel-Palestine issue. Obama is striking the perfect balance.
@albion How long ago was it that Obama and Israel didn't wish for the inception of Palestine?
When the PA drops its preconditions to peace negotiations then there might be progress. Returning to the 1948 borders formed by attacking Arab armies intent on genocide is not a plan--it is suicide.
@Iconoclast In your talk of genocide, you conveniently leave out the massive ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians which the Israelis carried out during the spring of 1948. If you call what the Arab armies did "genocide," then you must use that term for the Israeli actions as well.
Regardless, if the 1948 borders are unacceptable, how about the 1967 borders, or for that matter, ANY borders? Israel has steadfastly refused ever to define its international borders, which is awfully convenient for them, but a little unsettling (to say the least) for their neighbors. Imagine if your next-door-neighbor behaved the same way? "Oh, hi there, you know this property line? It turns out that God said it should be a dozen feet farther toward you, so don't mind the bulldozers when they wreck half your house."
@Sutekh
I can see you are just loving that propaganda. Israelis tried to keep Arabs in Israel, but the combination of Arab armies, long-standing bigotry, and promises of returning to stolen Jewish property swayed most of the Arab residents. Furthermore, genocide refers to killing. Killing Jews was the promised goal of the Arab armies attacking the new state of Israel in 1948. Asking Arabs to stay isn't defined as genocide by anyone other than the terminally indoctrinated.
The 1948 borders are the 1967 borders. Furthermore, Israel has returned the vast majority of land captured in their defensive war against even more Arab aggression in 1967.
As for defining international borders, borders with Lebanon, Gaza, Egypt, Jordan and Syria have been either agreed upon (in all cases but Syria) or forthrightly stated (as is the case with the Golan Heights). The only border remaining to be discussed is the border with the Arabs in the West Bank. Abbas refuses to negotiate those borders so they remain undefined. Sounds like Abbas' problem, not Israel's.
So between believing in Arab propaganda, historical ignorance, and current events ignorance your post is left with little accuracy. Time for the ad hominem attacks?
I am sorry to say..... Obama preaches to the prevailing political winds! Peace isn't possible in the M.E. it has been embroiled in hate, fear and mistrust far too long. Religious intolerance of one another reigns supreme.... (my two coppers)
Award him another Nobel peace prize just for his "Seasaw" approach.
@al_wa No, you can't give him a nobel peace prize for going there with any approach. He won the last one for doing nothing other than running for office. Can't truup that!
All suggestions, no solutions. That's our President, Charlie Brown.
@Takamine I always hear the Charlie Brown teacher when I listen to him.