Haram authority gears up to receive huge influx of worshipers during last 10 days of Ramadan    MWL hosts iftar at the US Congress in Washington    Crown Prince discusses Gaza situation in calls with French President and British PM Saudi Arabia hailed for hosting U.S.-Russian talks and efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis    Crown Prince lauds efforts of emirs in serving homeland and people    Over 320 million phone calls made in Makkah and Madinah during first half of Ramadan    Posting isn't enough: Why your brand needs to be authentic to keep audiences engaged during Ramadan    GASTAT: Number of Umrah pilgrims jumps by 31% in Q4 2024    Salem Al Dawsari strike lifts Saudi Arabia past 10-man China in Asian qualifiers    LuLu returns with its much-anticipated LuLu on sale campaign 50% off and incredible deals for Eid shopping and more    Israel extends ground operations in Gaza after deadly air strikes    Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners of war    Venezuela's Maduro calls US deportation of migrants to El Salvador 'kidnapping'    Direct flights between Dammam and Damascus resume on Wednesday    15-year-old New Zealander becomes youngest person to run a four-minute mile    SPL executive Saad Al Lazeez steps down    Saudi Arabia announces school holiday in Jeddah, Makkah, and Taif for Formula 1    Harry's US visa records unsealed after drug claims    Cannes award-winning actress Dequenne dies at 43    Antenna: Saudi artist Ahmed Mater opens first solo exhibition in China    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Man lives for 100 days with titanium heart in successful new trial    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



US envoy leaves Mideast without peace talks deal
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 11 - 10 - 2009


Washington's special Mideast envoy
wrapped up his latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the
region on Sunday, again having failed to persuade the
Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks, AP reported.
The envoy, George Mitchell, spent more than an hour
huddling with Israel's prime minister and defense minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the talks
«continued their discussions on moving the peace process
forward.»
Two lower-level Israeli officials will head to Washington
this week for further discussions, it added. Mitchell did
not comment publicly after the meeting and was returning to
Washington, U.S. officials said.
Mitchell, a former U.S. senator and mediator of Northern
Ireland's peace deal, has been shuttling between Israeli
and Palestinian officials for months, trying to restart
negotiations that broke down late last year.
Mitchell met with Netanyahu and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas late last week before traveling to Cairo over
the weekend to meet with Egyptian officials, who often play
leading roles in mediating the conflict.
Even with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to his boss,
Mitchell appeared to have made little progress in
persuading the adversaries to soften their positions.
Israel has refused to give in to U.S. pressure to freeze
construction in Jewish settlements built in the West Bank
and east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians, who claim both areas as parts of a
future independent state, say they won't resume talks
without such an internationally mandated freeze. They also
want guarantees that an Israeli pullout from the West Bank
and east Jerusalem will be the basis of a final agreement.
Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war.
«The Israelis need to acknowledge that the 1967 borders
are the borders between the two states, and this is the
foundation of any negotiations,» said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a
top Abbas aide.
Netanyahu has signaled he wants to keep parts of the West
Bank and says east Jerusalem will remain in Israeli hands.
Abbas will be hard-pressed to back down after provoking
unprecedented outrage among his people for suspending
efforts to bring Israel before a U.N. war crimes tribunal
for its conduct during last winter's war in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday evening, Abbas defended his decision to agree to
a six-month deferral of a vote on a U.N. report alleging
war crimes were committed in Gaza by both Israel and Hamas.
The vote was to have been taken earlier this month by the
U.N. Human Rights Council, but was put off until March
after the Palestinians withdrew their support, under what
Palestinian officials said was heavy U.S. pressure.
Abbas suggested that the Palestinians had simply gone
along with the prevailing view at the council. «From a
position of responsibility and honesty, I say that the
deferral came after an agreement between all the groups in
the Human Rights Council, and after studying all positions
and seeking the utmost support for the project,» he said.
Abbas noted that he's asked a committee to look into the
decision-making surrounding the U.N. report. «If the
committee finds any wrongdoing, any mistake in the
deferral, we have the courage to take the responsibility
and to say that we made a mistake,» Abbas said.
However, the committee members are public figures with
little clout, and it's unlikely they would issue findings
considered damaging to Abbas.
In any case, the uproar over his handling of the U.N.
report has already caused considerable harm to Abbas'
standing. In recent days, Abbas and his aides have
scrambled to repair the damage, including by asking the
Human Rights Council to consider voting now, rather than in
six months.
Complicating the U.S. peace mission is the deep divide
between rival Palestinian governments in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. The Palestinians seek to build a state that
includes both territories, located on opposite sides of
Israel.
Egypt has been trying to broker a power-sharing deal
between Abbas' government in the West Bank and the Hamas
rulers in Gaza. Hamas seized control of Gaza after ousting
pro-Abbas forces in 2007.
A reconciliation deal was to have been signed on Oct. 25,
but Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Sunday
that the elusive agreement has been delayed for several
weeks. The accord was to have allowed the two sides to
cooperate in rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and prepare for
Palestinian elections next year.
Hamas said on its Web site that it was postponing the
agreement because of Abbas' decision to delay action on the
U.N. report. A U.N. panel led by veteran war crimes
prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused Israel of using
disproportionate force and deliberately targeting civilians
during its winter assault on Gaza. It also called Hamas'
firing of rockets at civilian areas in southern Israel a
war crime.
Both sides have denied war crimes allegations.


Clic here to read the story from its source.