Welcome to Fry'd Daze - What is it.... Well, it is a long running diary series that is an Open Thread on issues around the Middle East. Anyhow, this is week 2.33
I don't want this to be a flame forum, Rather something we can exchange ideas about I/P and/or issues about the Middle East.
What I really want to try to do this on Fry'd Daze as a way to get people to talk about whatever comes into their heads regarding this subject... an open forum where people can meet and talk
This week is different. News out of the Middle East has Direct talks to start on Sept. 2nd, therefore I decided to run this story and this story alone with various interpretations. However, I am on a hotel computer and the connections are S-L-O-W....SO, please bring in your own articles and interpretations. Thanks.
First I want to say "Ramadam Karim" to our Islamic readers (I hope that is correct please let me know if not)
The First is from Haaretz:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been invited to Washington to begin direct peace talks on Sept. 2, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a press conference on Friday.
The meeting will serve to "re-launch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues which we believe we can complete in one year," Clinton said.
"There have been difficulties in the past; there will be difficulties ahead. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and to derail these talks. But I ask the parties to persevere," Clinton said.
President Barack Obama will hold one-on-one talks with each of the four leaders, separately, on Sept. 1, followed by a dinner with them, Clinton said.
This is the report from Haaretz. Next is the report from Ma'an News which explains it from the Palestinian side.
While PLO negotiations chief Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian leadership welcomed the move, there has yet to be an official response to the invitation from the Palestinian Authority. The PLO Executive committee is scheduled to meet at 8:30 p.m. in Ramallah.
A statement from the office of Netanyahu only said that Israel "wants to conduct serious talks," and government spokesman Mark Regev told Al-Jazeera "Israel has been calling for a year and a half now for talks without preconditions ... now finally we will start negotiating."
Regev later added that Netanyahu hoped to see "two states for two peoples," but added the expectation that it would be a "demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes its neighbor as a Jewish State."
Palestinian National Initiative leader and former presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi said the move was an acceptance of Israeli demands, and called the US move "shameful."
American groups have responded. Here is J Street's Statement on Talks
J Street welcomes today’s announcement of direct talks between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the United States closely shepherding the process. We applaud President Obama’s leadership and the work of Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell in bringing the parties to the table.
But bringing the parties together is only the starting line on a difficult road that will demand real political leadership and courage from the parties and from the United States and the international community. President Obama has said before that talks and process are not the goal - the goal is two states living side-by-side in peace and security, with defined borders and an end to the conflict. We urge President Obama and his team to continue to actively lead the way toward that destination.
They go on to talk about the one year time line being important and salute the parties on that.
I welcome other statements on this as I am on a hotel computer (on a biz trip) and am running out of time. Please bring your comments here and let's discuss.