Elder statesmen call for new tack on Middle East peace talks

Dubai/Ramallah: A group of elder statesmen says a new approach is needed for the Middle East peace talks after failed US efforts to get an extended Israeli colony ban.

A statement from the statesmen's group, which included former US President Jimmy Carter, has described as "flawed" Washington's attempt to get a renewed colony ban in return for big incentives.

According to the statesmen, the talks should prioritise the striking of an agreement on borders and security.

Observers are becoming ever more pessimistic on the state of the crumbling negotiations as Israel has made no concessions, and the US has not succeeded in applying effective pressure to advance the talks.

The US acknowledged last week that it had failed to coax Israel into extending a freeze on Jewish colony construction — a key Palestinian demand for holding direct negotiations.

Aggressive role

"The process needed the US administration to actively broker a peace, not simply act as facilitators. The failure lies in their inability to play an aggressive role, as in offering their own proposals on refugees, borders, land swaps, etcetera," Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at Brookings Doha Centre, told Gulf News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday welcomed a US decision to abandon its call for an Israeli freeze on colony building in the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem.

Since the expiration of the colony slowdown, Israeli colonists have rapidly resumed building hundreds of illegal houses.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the European Union to move towards recognition of a Palestinian state, in a call to the bloc's top diplomat.

"[Catherine] Ashton spoke today with president Abbas who called on the EU to take a step towards recognition of the state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was quoted by AFP as saying.

"We hope that the European Union will take this step to maintain the requirements for the success of the peace process, which was thwarted by Israel," added Erekat, who issued his own appeal to the EU earlier. Erakat's demands were laid out in a letter addressed to Ashton, who is presiding over a meeting of foreign policy chiefs in Brussels.

Clear reference

In Ramallah, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) demanded a clear political reference for the negotiations and the peace process and a clear declaration stating that the 1967 borders will be the borders of an independent Palestinian state with Occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinian leadership demanded an international force to look after the stability of the region. The leadership also demanded guarantees for a serious and successful peace process. These demands were announced during a meeting of the PLO Executive Committee chaired by Abbas.

Following the meeting Yasser Abed Rabbo, PLO Undersecretary, said the Palestinian leadership holds the Israeli Government responsible for the consequences of freezing the negotiations.

He said the Israeli government's top priority was given to continuing and expanding the colony activities and its occupation to the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian leadership called on the international community to play an active role for the success of the peace process.

Abed Raboo said the coming meeting for the Middle East quartet should manifest this desire, where all necessary mechanics to secure the launch of a serious peace process should be approved and implemented.

With inputs from Nasouh Nazzal, Correspondent