With a more liberal government in Washington and a more hawkish one in Tel Aviv, this is some change, if only in rhetoric, says Anayat Durrani The first meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and American President Barack Obama was business as usual. Nothing was achieved, though Obama actually dared to tell the Israelis to stop building settlements and to give the Palestinians a state, which did not sit well with the hawkish Netanyahu. Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud Party, refuses to endorse the idea of a Palestinian state, despite Israel's pledge to do so under the 2003 "roadmap" plan, which his Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman declares is no longer valid. The settlements will continue to be built. And then, of course there is the thorny issue of Iran. Obama's interest in entering into talks with Tehran without conditions is not amusing the Israeli government and public, where approval for launching a war against Iran is robust. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the Iran nuclear "threat" could destroy the state of Israel in a second holocaust and that removing that threat is high on his agenda. However, US Secretary of State Clinton warned last month that for Israel to get the support it seeks regarding Iran, "it can't stay on the sidelines with respect to the Palestinians and peace efforts. They go hand-in-hand." President Obama's administration is expected to publish an outline peace plan in the coming weeks, the core of which is the creation of a viable Palestinian state. However, Netanyahu's plans for negotiations are quite different. While opposing a Palestinian state, he talks about reviving the Palestinian economy and extending limited self-government to a few areas in the West Bank. Further, Netanyahu has ruled out dividing Jerusalem to become a binational capital and he has vowed not to return the Golan Heights to Syria. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, speaking at a Security Council meeting 11 May reaffirmed Obama's commitment towards a Palestinian state, and an end to violence and Israeli settlements. The UN meeting was called by Russia and attended by foreign ministers of eight of the 15 member states. "Our interest lies not in a lengthy drawn-out process but in real results. We must not tarry," Rice said. Rice said the Obama administration condemns rocket fire and attacks against Israelis as well as a future without hope for the Palestinians, calling both "intolerable". Rice said Israel must stop settlement activity and "dismantle outposts erected since March 2001." She added that the Obama administration strongly supports the reopening of the border crossing in Gaza "in a controlled, sustained and continuous manner with an appropriate monitoring regime." Israel criticised the timing of the UN meeting as "inappropriate". Israeli envoy to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, said in a statement: "Israel does not believe that the involvement of the Security Council contributes to the political process in the Middle East." Shalev said the peace process should be bilateral and left to be resolved by only those involved. Obama's policy on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process differs from his predecessor George W Bush, who showed little motivation towards reviving the peace process and gave full backing to Israel. Obama plans to hold separate talks at the White House during May with Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders. Following these meetings, Obama will deliver a speech to the Muslim world from Egypt on 4 June, which is expected to outline his policy on the Middle East peace process.
