US President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday that Israel and the Palestinians would be held accountable if either side takes actions that undermine US-mediated talks launched this week, the White House said.
Obama issued the pledge in a telephone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in which he also urged both parties to negotiate “seriously and in good faith” and move from indirect talks to direct negotiations as soon as possible.
Getting the two sides to revive negotiations, even in a format Washington has dubbed “proximity” talks, marks Obama’s most tangible Middle East achievement since he took office last year. But expectations remain low for any kind of breakthrough.
Speaking to Abbas after US envoy George Mitchell opened the first round of Middle East peace talks in 18 months, Obama sought to maintain pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to keep the fragile diplomatic effort on track.
“The president confirmed his intention to hold both sides accountable for actions that undermine trust during the talks,” the White House said in a summary of Obama’s conversation with Abbas.
The White House did not elaborate on Obama’s warning. But the US has long-standing concerns about Israeli settlement construction and Palestinian violence.
Though Abbas had backed off on a demand for a full halt to Israeli settlement building on occupied land before any talks, he has spoken of US assurances that Israel will not do anything “provocative” to derail the negotiations.
Obama’s statement appeared in part aimed at satisfying Abbas’ fears that Israel’s right-leaning government might announce further expansion of Jewish housing in and around Jerusalem.
The White House said Obama also urged Abbas to “do everything he can to prevent acts of incitement or delegitimization of Israel.”
Abbas is weakened politically by the Islamist group Hamas’ control of the Gaza Strip while he only governs in the West Bank.
Obama, who has stressed his commitment to Israel’s security, also reiterated his support for establishment of an “independent, viable Palestinian state living in peace and security with Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a coalition government dominated by pro-settler parties, has rejected a total freeze on construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territory.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in