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Update on the Issues: Netanyahu Comes to Town

By AAI
AAI
Posted on Wednesday May 20, 2009

Obama Turns to the Middle East

After launching his diplomatic push for Middle East peace with a visit from Jordan’s King Abdullah II last month, President Barack Obama is set to host talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders in Washington before his much-anticipated address to the Arab and Muslim world in Cairo next month.

What should we expect in the coming days and weeks? After 10 days in Washington, King Abdullah of Jordan left “assured that President Barack Obama is committed to pushing for peace between Israelis, Palestinians and the broader Arab world based on a two-state solution,” according to the Jerusalem Post. For more on King Abdullah’s visit, don’t miss his April 26, 2009 appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30406811/

In the days after meeting with President Obama, King Abdullah received a surprise visit from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. As reported by Haaretz, “The king, whose lobbying has been in step with the Obama administration’s efforts to link progress on Israel-Arab peacemaking to progress on curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, said there is consensus in the international community that there is no alternative to the two-state solution.”

Also, last Thursday, Former British Prime Minister and current Middle East Quartet Envoy Tony Blair came to Washington to testify on Capitol Hill before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Middle East peace. Dr. Zogby interviewed Britain’s former Prime Minister, who holds out hope for a two state solution. Watch the clip from Viewpoint here.

Netanyahu’s Visit

President Obama has yet to make a policy address about Middle East peace, but Vice President Joseph Biden already set the tone at AIPAC’s annual conference, saying, “Israel has to work toward a two-state solution. You’re not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement.”

Netanyahu historically has not endorsed a two-state solution, nor has he halted settlement building. And if he changes that stance, he faces trouble at home. Y Net News is reporting that ”[a] number of Likud MKs said they would ‘rebel’ against Netanyahu should he change his stance and agree to enter negotiations on the establishment of a Palestinian state, as was the case when former PM Sharon decided to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank in 2005.”

For an idea of what to expect from Netanyahu, read Dr. Zogby’s Washington Watch articles from years past (we have conveniently compiled them for you here), and consider his most recent piece, published in Huffington Post last week, entitled Netanyahu, Master Maneuverer:

Recall that when Netanyahu was first elected Prime Minister in 1996, he had pledged to end the peace process. Facing pressure from the Clinton administration to continue negotiations, he countered with conditions of his own, in an effort to distort or abort the process. Clinton persisted, and when invited to participate in negotiations at Wye Plantation, Netanyahu, at first, balked.

At that time, famed Israeli peace activist, Uri Avnery, predicted that in response to this invitation, Netanyahu would do one of three things: not go; go and not sign an agreement; or sign an agreement and then continue to maneuver to find a way not to implement it. He took the latter course.

In advance of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit, two Dear Colleague letters are circulating on Capitol Hill, set to be delivered to President Obama before his trip to Egypt. AAI is endorsing the letter initiated by Congressmen Boustany, Cohen, and Carnahan (click here and here to read). Please call your member of Congress today and urge them to support this pro-peace letter, instead of the Hoyer-Cantor message advocating for the status quo.

What do Americans think about all this?

The results might surprise you; scratch the surface, and a deep, partisan divide comes through. Dr. Zogby of the Arab American Institute and John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International, will give a fascinating presentation this morning, Monday 18 May, of a recent poll that illuminates just where the country stands on Arab-Israeli peace. For more information on how to attend if you’re in the D.C. area, or how to watch it streaming live on the Internet, please visit our website: http://www.aaiusa.org/press-room/3897/two-very-important-events-to-attend

Click here to download a copy of the poll report: “American Perceptions of an Arab-Israeli Peace: A New Zogby Poll on Domestic Attitudes Toward Obama’s Middle East Policy”

Did you know?

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We’ll know better which way the wind blows in the coming days and weeks, as first Netanyahu, then Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak on the 26^th, and President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas on May 28^th, each visit the White House. President Obama is scheduled to speak in Egypt at the beginning of June. What is clear this morning is there is a firm and committed push from many sides to put the peace process back on track.