US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton opened direct Middle East peace talks in Washington yesterday, saying the presence of the two sides was itself a step toward peace.
“By being here today, you each have taken an important step toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create,” Clinton said at the start of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the State Department.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian forces scoured the occupied West Bank for gunmen in the second attack claimed by Hamas, a staunch opponent of the negotiations, in as many days.
An Israeli military official hailed the cooperation with the Palestinian security forces, which he said was at its highest level since the 1993 Oslo accords launched the Middle East peace process.
Despite the flare-up of violence, US President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on both sides not to let slip a fleeting opportunity for peace, a Palestinian state and a secure Israel within a year, as he gathered the two leaders with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White House.
“This moment of opportunity may not soon come again,” said Obama, who met the leaders separately on Wednesday, and then hosted a dinner that also included Clinton and diplomatic Quartet representative and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
The normally hawkish Netanyahu vowed to forge a “historic” peace with the Palestinians and Abbas responded by calling for an end to bloodshed after the latest Hamas attacks, but also demanded a halt to Israel settlement activity.
“President Abbas, you are my partner in peace,” Netanyahu said during a press appearance in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday. “I came here today to find an historic compromise that will enable both our peoples to live in peace and security and dignity.”
Netanyahu vowed to obtain security assurances, warning “terrorists” would not block the path to peace.
“We left Lebanon, we got terror. We left Gaza, we got terror. We want to ensure that territory we concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave aimed at the heart of Israel,” he said.
Turning to Netanyahu, Abbas condemned Tuesday’s attack that killed four Israelis and Wednesday’s strike in which two more were injured.
“We do not want at all that any blood be shed ... one drop of blood on the part of Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.
The Palestinian leader also demanded a total freeze on settlement activity.
“We are under no illusions. Passions run deep. Each side has legitimate and enduring interests. Years of mistrust will not disappear overnight,” Obama said.
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