21 April 2009
United States Will Be Engaged in Arab-Israeli Peace Process
Washington — The prospect of an Arab-Israeli peace still exists, but will require some difficult choices, says President Obama.
At a brief White House news conference April 21, Obama said that achieving a lasting peace and the creation of a Palestinian state requires resolution on the part of all involved parties.
“And it’s going to require that we create some concrete steps that all parties can take that are evidence of that resolution. And the United States is going to deeply engage in this process to see if we can make progress,” the president said shortly after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Abdullah said he agreed with the president’s objective of a two-state solution that meets everyone’s needs.
“I think we’re looking now at the positives and not the negatives and seeing how we can sequence events over the next couple of months that allows the Israelis and Palestinians, and Israelis [and] Arabs to sit around a table and move this process forward,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah said that President Obama has the full support of Jordan and the Arab League to move the Israelis and Palestinians to fruitful negotiations as quickly as possible. “We believe that it is important for all of us to keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is peace and stability finally for all the people of our region,” Abdullah said.
Obama said he recognizes that the Israelis have formed a new coalition government in the past few weeks, which was a complicated process in itself. This, the president said, is why Special Envoy George Mitchell continues to listen to the Israelis, Palestinians and to Arab partners in his visits to the region.
“Unfortunately, right now what we’ve seen, not just in Israel but within the Palestinian Territories, among the Arab states worldwide, is a profound cynicism about the possibility of any progress being made whatsoever,” Obama said. “What we want to do is to step back from the abyss.”
Obama said that diplomats can not talk forever, and that at some point steps need to be taken to meet the objectives of the talks — a two-state solution — but also to show that there is progress on the ground.
The president said he will discuss making progress when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington in coming months. “My hope would be that over the next several months, that you start seeing gestures of good faith on all sides,” Obama said.
“Ultimately, neither Jordan nor the United States can do this for the Israelis and the Palestinians,” the president said. It is not in anyone’s interest, Obama said, to perpetuate conflict.
What foreign affairs decisions should President Obama consider? Comment on America.gov's blog.
