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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
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| By Israel Insider staff September 19, 2007 |
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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will likely face skepticism and resistance during her visit today to the region, local media outlets reported, during which she is expected to discuss with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders the current status of the Mideast summit.
Over the past several days Palestinian leaders have repeatedly announced their reluctance to go through with the summit scheduled for November, citing a lack of concrete agreements and the unwillingness of Arab nations to participate.
"Abbas is not eager to hold the summit," a senior Palestinian official London-based newspaper al-Hayat. "He has held meetings with Arab leaders, especially with the Saudi royal family, and they agreed that there was no need for a summit if it was unlikely to yield concrete political results," he added, according to Ynet.
Rice attempted to assuage apprehension expressioned by Arab leaders who have criticized the summit as not substantive enough. "The idea that somehow the president of the United States would call an international meeting so that we could all have a photo-op is very far-fetched," she said.
Rice can also expect resistance from Israel, whose media have reported that Abbas and Olmert have already reached agreements on a number of core issues, causing a stir among cabinet ministers. The reports said that Olmert is offering to cede roughly 95 percent of the West Bank and Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem to the PA. Many cabinet ministers, including several from Kadima, announced their fierce opposition to the reported plan and said they will leave the party if Olmert officially offers the land concessions reported in the press.
Meanwhile, Rice is continuing to push for progress.
"I think everyone expects it to be serious and substantive and everybody expects it to address critical issues. We don't expect anything less," she said. "As I have said many times, the Palestinians have waited long enough for their state and the Israelis have waited long enough for the security that will come from having a democratic neighbor."
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