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US peace envoy George Mitchell flies in as Middle East teeters
"The new US peace envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, flew into Israel today after a dangerous escalation in Gaza threatened to renew the three-week war that killed some 1,300 Palestinians.
The veteran mediator, 75, who helped to steer the factions in Northern Ireland to the Good Friday agreement and power-sharing, flew from Egypt as part of a tour to re-acquaint himself with the seemingly intractable problems of the Middle East. It is the former senator’s second mission in the area, the first having been almost a decade ago when he wrote a report on the causes of the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, and suggested ways of tackling the violence.
The night before his arrival, Israeli warplanes bombed Palestinian smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border, hours after militants blew up an Israeli army patrol near the fence with Israel, killing one soldier and injuring three. Israel struck back with an air strike on a militant unit, wounding two people, but said it reserved the right to deliver a more stinging response.
The American envoy will hold talks with Israeli leaders and officials, including heads of the intelligence services, before going on to Ramallah for meetings with the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr Abbas’ Fatah forces were driven from Gaza 18 months ago in what amounted to a mini civil war, further complicating efforts to reach a peace deal. Mr Mitchell is not scheduled to meet any members of Hamas, labeled by the US, Europe and Israel as a terrorist organisation, but which rules Gaza and was elected to government in free elections in 2006.
The Gordian knot facing Mr Mitchell is further tangled by the fact that Israel is holding general elections next month, with the incumbent centre-right government set to lose out badly to more hawkish parties led by Binyamin Netanyahu. The leaders Mr Mitchell meets on his present fact-finding mission are likely to have been replaced by new politicians with a harder line on peace negotiations by the time he reports back to President Barack Obama.
Mr Mitchell is also due to visit Jordan and Saudi Arabia."
"The new US peace envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, flew into Israel today after a dangerous escalation in Gaza threatened to renew the three-week war that killed some 1,300 Palestinians.
The veteran mediator, 75, who helped to steer the factions in Northern Ireland to the Good Friday agreement and power-sharing, flew from Egypt as part of a tour to re-acquaint himself with the seemingly intractable problems of the Middle East. It is the former senator’s second mission in the area, the first having been almost a decade ago when he wrote a report on the causes of the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, and suggested ways of tackling the violence.
The night before his arrival, Israeli warplanes bombed Palestinian smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border, hours after militants blew up an Israeli army patrol near the fence with Israel, killing one soldier and injuring three. Israel struck back with an air strike on a militant unit, wounding two people, but said it reserved the right to deliver a more stinging response.
The American envoy will hold talks with Israeli leaders and officials, including heads of the intelligence services, before going on to Ramallah for meetings with the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr Abbas’ Fatah forces were driven from Gaza 18 months ago in what amounted to a mini civil war, further complicating efforts to reach a peace deal. Mr Mitchell is not scheduled to meet any members of Hamas, labeled by the US, Europe and Israel as a terrorist organisation, but which rules Gaza and was elected to government in free elections in 2006.
The Gordian knot facing Mr Mitchell is further tangled by the fact that Israel is holding general elections next month, with the incumbent centre-right government set to lose out badly to more hawkish parties led by Binyamin Netanyahu. The leaders Mr Mitchell meets on his present fact-finding mission are likely to have been replaced by new politicians with a harder line on peace negotiations by the time he reports back to President Barack Obama.
Mr Mitchell is also due to visit Jordan and Saudi Arabia."