'Barack Obama on brink of deal for Middle East peace talks' (Guardian UK)

[Jackeens]

Barack Obama is close to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal that will allow him to announce a resumption of the long-stalled Middle East peace talks before the end of next month, according to US, Israeli, Palestinian and European officials.

Key to bringing Israel on board is a promise by the US to adopt a much tougher line with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons programme. The US, along with Britain and France, is planning to push the United Nations security council to expand sanctions to include Iran's oil and gas industry, a move that could cripple its economy.

In return, the Israeli government will be expected to agree to a partial freeze on the construction of settlements in the Middle East. In the words of one official close to the negotiations: "The message is: Iran is an existential threat to Israel; settlements are not."

Details of the breakthrough deal will be hammered out tomorrow in London, where the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is due to hold talks with the US special envoy, George Mitchell. Netanyahu met Gordon Brown today in Downing Street, where the two discussed both settlements and the Iranian nuclear programme.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/25/barack-obama-middle-east-peace

[DrToast]

1. Great news n/t

[movonne]

2. Do you think this will be our all over the news???

[Cha]

4. Oh hell no.

CorporatemediaWhores will bury it so they can scream bloody murder about the push polls they took on Health Reform.

[grantcart]

6. Its an interesting chess move

maybe they don't want it over the news yet and have leaked it to the Guardian.


It lets the blue dogs know that they cross the President at great peril, for he has many ways to get back on top electorally.

[Cha]

3. The good news is that they're diligently trying

to make this happen.

[IndianaGreen]

5. For a different, and more realistic point of view, read the following

The key problem is that Tel Aviv appears consistently to be more enamoured of negotiations about a peace process rather than actively seeking a lasting peace and reconciliation.

And linked to that is the determination of the US and the European Union to encourage this disregard for international law by supporting Israel militarily and commercially.

The Western powers that are so quick to impose sanctions against a number of states for a variety of pretexts reject every call to put pressure on Israel to live up to its international legal obligations.

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/comment/Speak-out-for-justice

Bibi Netanyahu is an expert at playing games while doing nothing. What we got here is another kabuki dance in which we will find ourselves at year's end in the same place we are today.

[Clio the Leo]

7. There's the man I voted for!!!!

(of course so is the health care reformer and economist and the golfer)

[polichick]

8. A "partial" freeze on the construction of settlements? nt

[hulka38]

9. That "deal" sucks. Does Israel hold a pair of aces to start each hand or what?

[polichick]

10. No kidding - I just read the details...

They should be getting the hell out of there entirely!