Cairo: US Middle East envoy George Mitchell began his regional tour by meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials as he attempted to implement the vision concerning the peace process set down by US President Barack Obama during his June 4 speech in Cairo.
Speaking Wednesday after a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Mitchell reiterated the need for a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one to meet the aspirations of both peoples.
“The President of the United States and Secretary of State have made our policy clear: The only viable resolution to this conflict is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, he said.
On Tuesday during a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Mitchell stressed the strength of the bond between the US and Israel.
He said, “The United States’ commitment to the security of Israel remains unshakeable. The United States under President Obama and Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton remains fully committed to working with our friends, our allies and our partners, and to achieve that comprehensive peace.
Mitchell arrived in Egypt on Thursday and is scheduled to travel to Lebanon and Syria.
He had stated that US efforts sought “a comprehensive regional peace which not only involves Israel and the Palestinians, but Syrians, the Lebanese and all the surrounding countries.
Obama had said in his Cairo speech that the US administration would work on attempting to achieve a state for the Palestinian people. Though he stressed that ties with Israel were unbreakable, he did state that settlement activity was illegal and should stop.
“This is the first time Mitchell speaks of a Palestinian state in detail, so he is implementing the agenda that Obama set in his Cairo speech, said Emad Gad from Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
Gad said that the new Israeli government would acquiesce to the idea of a two-state solution. The newly elected government has refused to accept this notion.
“[Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin] Netanyahu will make a speech on Sunday and it is understood that in it he will declare his willingness for a Palestinian state but with conditions: that it be demilitarized and with curbs on its sovereignty, Gad said.
Before coming to the region, Mitchell had been at a Gaza donors’ conference in Norway on Monday. Speaking during the conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Mitchell’s presence “underlines the importance given by the international community . to the Palestinian situation and its improvement.
Zaki also said Egypt wanted Israel to “adopt clear and tangible procedures for lifting blockades in the West Bank, breaking the siege on Gaza, and to end settlement activity entirely.
