Netanyahu: New gov’t wants peace

JERUSALEM —Ahead of the arrival of President Barack Obama on a high-profile Mideast mission, Israel’s new government yesterday sent mixed messages about pursuing peace with the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to Parliament that his hand is outstretched in peace and that he is ready for a “historic compromise,” but one of his closest allies called hopes for peace “delusional.”

The conflicting signals gave a glimpse of the infighting that is likely to hinder the new coalition government if Netanyahu, who has historically been reluctant to make serious concessions to the Palestinians, decides to launch any new diplomatic initiatives.

“The rhetoric about peace is one thing and doing peace is something else. Doing peace requires deeds,” Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said of the new Israeli government.

Well aware of the large gaps between the sides, Obama and his team has been careful to lower expectations for the 48-hour visit, which begins tomorrow. The White House has already said he will not bring any bold new initiatives. He will leave the details of diplomacy to his Secretary of State, John Kerry, who is expected in the region in the coming weeks.

Instead, Obama plans to meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in hopes of finding some common ground. Toward that goal, the White House confirmed yesterday that the president has added a third, previously unscheduled meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday, immediately after returning from talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. There are no plans for the three to meet together.

Upon taking office in 2009, Obama vowed to make Mideast peace a top priority. But talks never got off the ground, and ultimately Obama turned his attention elsewhere.

The Palestinians have refused to negotiate while Israel continues to build in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories where they hope to establish a state. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Palestinians say construction in the areas, now inhabited by more than 500,000 Israelis, is a sign of bad faith. The Palestinians say the pre-1967 lines should be the basis for a future border.

“We extend our hand in peace to the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said in his speech yesterday, delivered shortly before his new Cabinet was sworn into office. “With a Palestinian partner that is willing to hold negotiations in good will, Israel will be ready for a historic compromise that will end the conflict with the Palestinians once and for all.”

Making any significant concession will be a struggle for Netanyahu. The coalition, stitched together during nearly six weeks of negotiations following a January 22 parliamentary election, is focused more on domestic issues than peacemaking. And on the Palestinian issue, his partners include moderates and hard-liners who share little common ground.

On one hand, Netanyahu has appointed Tzipi Livni, a dovish former foreign minister who has good ties with the Palestinians, to be his chief negotiator. His largest coalition partner, Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid Party, has called for an aggressive attempt to reach peace.

In contrast, the pro-settler Jewish Home Party rejects any concessions to the Palestinians, and Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beitenu bloc itself is dominated by hard-liners. His new defence minister and housing minister, who each wield great influence over Israel’s policies in the West Bank, are both sympathetic to the settlers.

Avigdor Lieberman, a powerful ally of the prime minister, said yesterday anyone who thinks peace can be reached with the Palestinians is “delusional.”

Herald with AP, Reuters