U.S. makes "deep, durable" commitment to Middle East peace

by David Harris

JERUSALEM, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is determined to work as vigorously as possible to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Speaking to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Clinton said she was "heartened" by what she has seen during the half a year since she came into office.

In a wide-ranging policy speech, Clinton touched on key international issues and offered her view on Washington's future role in the international community. While the Israeli-Palestinian issue and Iran issue remained as two of her main topics.

As with all seasoned diplomats and politicians, Clinton would not be drawn into making sweeping statements or offering dramatic sound bites. However, she did summarize current U.S. thinking on these two key issues.

She made sure to clarify not all of the onus in the Palestinian-Israeli arena is on Israel. There was a general feeling after U.S. President Barack Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo that he had asked far more from Israel than from the Palestinians.

"While we expect action from Israel, we recognize that these decisions are politically challenging," Clinton said with regard to the demand for an end to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and the perceived need to ease the living conditions of Palestinians in the territories.

At the same time Clinton called on the Palestinian National Authority to further strengthen its grip on security and to act "forcefully" against incitement.

Clinton also had a message for the Arab world. While praising the Saudi Peace Initiative, first launched in 2002, she said more is needed.

"Arab states have a responsibility to support the Palestinian Authority with words and deeds, to take steps to improve relations with Israel, and to prepare their publics to embrace peace and accept Israel's place in the region," she said.

The Saudi plan, now more often dubbed the Arab Peace Initiative, calls for a comprehensive Arab peace with Israel in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from all land it captured during the 1967 War.

The Israeli government is not commenting on the content of Clinton's speech. However, it is sticking to its guns regarding the June 14 policy speech of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Asked by Xinhua about the political pressures the Netanyahu government is under, given how many hawkish partners there are in his coalition -- as referred to by Clinton, a spokesman for the premier said his policies are based on a national consensus.

In his address, Netanyahu spoke publicly for the first time of a Palestinian state. But he added key two riders, that the state be demilitarized and that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state.

When it came to the settlements, Netanyahu said that there would be no new settlements constructed in the West Bank, nor would there be any more land expropriations from Palestinians.

Yet he hinted that the so-called "natural growth" of settlements would be allowed -- a stance rejected by the Obama administration.

"The vision for peace as defined by the prime minister represented an overwhelming consensus position in the Israeli political body," said Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev. He added that the current government is one of national unity, with hawkish and dovish parties on board.

The other key American foreign policy area that affects Israel is of course Iran.

Clinton chose to take on a carrot and stick approach in her remarks. She made clear that the United States and the West were very disturbed by alleged discrepancies in last month's presidential election in Iran and far more so by the violence that ensued. However, she added the current Iranian regime is the reality and it needs to be addressed.

"We know that refusing to deal with the Islamic Republic has not succeeded in altering the Iranian march toward a nuclear weapon, reducing Iranian support for terror, or improving Iran's treatment of its citizens," she said.

There is currently a window of opportunity for Tehran to end its support for terror, its interfering in the affairs of state of its neighbors and if it talks seriously about its nuclear program, she said. "The opportunity will not remain open indefinitely."

Asked about U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden's apparent green light for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Clinton merely said the president clarified the situation the following day.

"Iran is an expert when it comes to the market place and I'm sure that means it is also expert in adopting delaying tactics. I just hope the Americans are alert to this," said Ephraim Asculai, a senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.

In his opinion talking is the only way forward, but as Clinton also put it, there is a limited timeframe for sitting around a negotiating table.

Asculai believes the United States rather than the United Nations must determine the length of the window available for talks because the new framework for negotiations is being created in Washington.

Clinton's speech is just the latest in a series of pronouncements and other signals from the Obama team that it would like to engage rather than enter conflicts with other nations or blocs. So far, the administration is still viewed positively in much of the Middle East, although the aftermath of the Iranian election has made for increased tension with Tehran.

However, in general it is felt that Obama is a man with whom one can do business, but the belief in regional capitals is that the talking needs to happen sooner rather than later to ensure any form of resolution to two seemingly intractable crises.