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"Hell hath no fury..." Condoleezza Rice cancels her visit to Israel (file)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners May 8, 2007 |
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A senior government source said that the sudden decision to postpone a visit to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is "unprecedented," Israel Radio reported Tuesday. The source said that the cancelation took Jerusalem by surprise.
But the U.S. State Department, responding to the reports in Israeli media, denied Tuesday that the decision to postpone the visit to Israel was a sign that the American administration is distancing itself from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert due to his government's turmoil.
"We work very closely with Prime Minister Olmert ... We are working very closely with him and his government as we speak on ... Israeli-Palestinian issues and how to move that process forward," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.
McCormack had previously said that Rice's decision was due to the Israeli political turmoil. "It's possible that she could make a stop in the Middle East on this trip, although I would not expect, on this trip, that she would travel to Israel and the Palestinian areas," he said. "There's obviously a lot of politics in Israel that they are working through at this point but we are going to continue our efforts to advance the Israeli-Palestinian track."
It was not immediately clear when Rice would return to Israel and the Palestinian Authority or where else she may visit in the Middle East on the trip.
Rice has aligned herself publicly with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, whom she effusively praised in Time Magazine. The snub may be part of a pact between the women to force Olmert from office and leave the way open for Livni's accession. Yesterday, associates of Shimon Peres said he was inclined to run for President rather than wait for the possibility that the Prime Minister's seat may soon become available.
PA and Israel agree: No back-channel talks going on
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected claims that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Olmert are conducting secret talks. "It's baseless. There is no such thing," he said.
Haaretz quoted diplomatic sources Monday as saying that Olmert expects significant political progress this summer. The prime minister, in discussions with recently, has hinted that he and Abbas have been holding secret talks, but did not reveal the content, venue or participants in the talks.
Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert, also denied the existence of such discussions Tuesday. "I don't know anything about back channel talks," she said. Hassan Asfour, a Palestinian negotiator close to Abbas also denied them, according to Haaretz: "I confirm there are no secret talks and no back channel talks."
In January, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Olmert and Abbas had agreed on starting "informal talks" about the dimensions and character of a provisional Palestinian state.
Olmert continued his public courtship of Saudi Arabia Monday, Haaretz reported. At a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Olmert said he took a positive view of Saudi Arabian leadership of the Arab world, even though he reiterated Israel's rejection of the Arab right of return as demanded by the Saudi initiative.
The Haaretz report speculated that "Olmert is apparently trying to work with Abbas to formulate a statement of principles, which could serve as a basis for a regional meeting or for establishing closer relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia." |
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