Israel and Palestinians invited to US peace talks
Updated on 20 August 2010
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has invited the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu to resume direct talks in Washington next month. But Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum warns that the odds are not good.
Hillary Clinton's announcement followed months of diplomacy by US middle east envoy George Mitchell who has been in negotiations with both sides for them to continue the talks that were broken off in 2008.
Negotiations will begin on 2 September, although in a statement the US secretary of state admitted "there have been difficulties in the past, there will be difficulties ahead".
"I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region," she said.
Both sides have agreed to place a one-year time limit on their direct negotiations.
Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have also been invited to the Washington summit. They will hold bilateral meetings with President Obama on 1 September.
US officials said the aim of the talks would be to create a viable, democratic and independent Palestinian state that could exist side by side alongside Israel.
Clinton said both sides should negotiate without preconditions and discuss on all the so-called final status issues.
These include the boundaries of any future Palestinian state, Jewish settlements on occupied territory and the status of Jerusalem.
"Talks, dinner, hand-shakes and smiles" But what chance of success?
The Americans are touting this as a victory for their diplomacy – George Mitchell, President Obama's envoy, has spent 18 months trying to persuade the two parties to talk, writes international editor Lindsey Hilsum.
There'll be talks and dinner in Washington, hand-shakes and smiles. And then what? I'd guess, not a lot. There is no pressure on the Israeli government to do a deal. Now they have built a wall separating them from the West Bank, there is little danger of suicide bombers coming in, so there is no public clamour for peace – in day to day terms, most Israelis already have it.
Mr Netanyahu’s coalition includes settlers who are unlikely to agree a freeze on settlements, and if they desert him, his government falls. A peace deal would require Israel to dismantle some settlements, and possibly relinquish full control of Jerusalem, something no insecure, right-wing Israeli leader would relish.
As for President Abbas, what mandate does he have to speak for the Palestinians? His term was supposed to expire last year, and many Palestinians no longer recognise him as a legitimate leader.
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The invitation came as the quartet of middle east peace negotiators, the quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United States issued its own invitation to both sides to resume their talks.
Mitchell said Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, would have no role in the talks.
Netanyahu welcomed Clinton's invitation.
"We are coming to the talks with a genuine desire to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples that will protect Israel's national security interests," his office said.
The Palestinians had no immediate comment on Clinton's offer.
Last month President Mahmoud Abbas said direct talks with Israel would be futile unless Israel changed its stance on the building of settlements.
