US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered President Barack Obama a downbeat report on Thursday on his administration's so-far frustrated efforts to forge Middle East peace. Clinton met the president in the Oval Office to deliver a keenly anticipated progress update on the Obama team's efforts to entice Palestinians and Israelis to overcome issues preventing a return to deadlocked peace talks.
The President has made the issue a cornerstone of his evolving foreign policy, and cajoled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to join him at a summit last month in New York. But despite the efforts of Obama, Clinton and Middle East envoy George Mitchell, the administration has had few breakthroughs to savor, and Israelis and Palestinians seem as estranged as ever.
"The secretary advised the president that challenges remain as the United States continues to work with both sides to relaunch negotiations in an atmosphere in which they can succeed," an Obama administration official said. Clinton did stress that some minor progress had been achieved, but added that much work needed to be done by both sides, the official said, on condition of anonymity. "The Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security and reforming Palestinian institutions, but they need to do more in these areas and on stopping incitement and preventing terror," the official said.
"Israelis have facilitated greater movement for Palestinians and responded to our call to stop all settlement activity by expressing a willingness to curtail settlement activity.
"But they need to translate that willingness into real, meaningful action and do more to improve the daily lives of Palestinians. And both sides need to move forward toward direct negotiations." The official said that Mitchell will return to the Middle East in the near future to continue talks, while Clinton would consult Arab foreign ministers in Morocco on November 2 and 3.
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