Humiliation for Binyamin Netanyahu will see East Jerusalem settlements postponed and security
eased, it is understood
The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has caved in to US demands over the Middle
East peace process, opening the way for a resumption of talks with the Palestinians.
The humiliating climbdown, which came after a week of pressure from the Obama administration, has
been announced as the Middle East quartet continues talks this morning in Moscow.
The group met for dinner last night. It consists of the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton;
Tony Blair, the quartet's Middle East envoy; the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon; the EU's new
foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton; and Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov described last night's talks as "very useful" and said the quartet was part-way towards
reaching "some common conclusions which may be helpful to provoke the beginning of negotiations
[between the Israelis and Palestinians]".
In a telephone call to Clinton last night, Netanyahu agreed to various demands she had set out
last Friday.
A statement from his office said he proposed, as Clinton had demanded, "confidence-building
steps" that would make it easier for the Palestinians to join the talks. He did not specify what
these would be, but they could include easing Israeli roadblocks in the West Bank, the withdrawal
of Israeli troops from more parts of the West Bank and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
He did not announce, as the US had demanded, a freeze on the construction of Jewish homes in
Ramat Shlomo in East Jerusalem, the key sticking point.
But diplomats in Washington, Moscow and Jerusalem said Netanyahu had privately promised a
temporary freeze on new construction. The work, while not cancelled, is to be postponed for
several years.
The Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, told the Washington Post: "The goal of both sides
at this point is to put this behind us and go forward with the proximity talks as quickly as
possible."
The concessions bring to an end a rare clash between the US and Israel that began early last week
when the US vice-president, Joe Biden, made a visit to Israel to coincide with what he hoped
would be a resumption of peace talks. During his visit Israel announced a plan to build 1,600
Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians promptly pulled out of the proposed talks and
the US described the Israeli announcement as a snub and an insult.
Clinton had a tense 41-minute phone call with Netanyahu last Friday expressing US anger and
setting out her demands: confidence-building measures, a moratorium on new construction in East
Jerusalem and a promise that the resumption of negotiations would be on matters of substance, not
just talks about talks.
There has been no indication whether Netanyahu agreed to the final point, but it is unlikely,
given the events of last week, that the US will have settled for anything less.
Diplomats said some of the concessions by Netanyahu were being made public and others were being
kept private to allow him to save face.
The climbdown is politically awkward for Netanyahu, coming a few days after he publicly said that
no Israeli government in the past 42 years had given a promise not to build in East Jerusalem. He
will face particular criticism from his rightwing coalition partners.
Netanyahu held a long meeting with cabinet colleagues on Wednesday night to discuss the
concessions he would have to make.
Obama and Clinton stand to gain from the Israeli retreat, which will help their reputation among
the Palestinians and in the Arab world. They were left looking weak after a similar stand-off
with Israel last September when peace talks failed to get under way.
The US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, cancelled a trip to Israel this week in protest, but
is to resume his visit on Sunday. Clinton is to see Netanyahu in Washington next week.
A US state department spokesman, PJ Crowley, said Clinton and Netanyahu had discussed "specific
steps" to improve the outlook for Middle East peace talks. Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Chefetz,
said the prime minister had proposed "mutual confidence-building steps" that both Israel and the
Palestinians could take.
Last night Israeli retaliated for a Palestinian rocket attack that killed a Thai agricultural
worker. Israeli planes struck at least two targets in Gaza, officials and witnesses said.
Ewen MacAskillLuke Hardingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use
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