Loan Adviser

Differences remain between Israelis and Palestinians after a trilateral meeting

Bush has instructed his special envoy to the area, George Mitchell, to meet in Washington with representatives of both parties and continue negotiations to restore the peace process.

The deadline is mid-October, when Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will report on progress achieved.

In a meeting described by Mitchell as tone cordial but direct and frank, sometimes sharp, Obama said Israelis and Palestinians must do more to resume the peace talks as soon as possible.

At the start of the first meeting at this level between Israelis and Palestinians in about a year, and the first of its mandate, Obama said that both Israeli Prime Minister and Palestinian President must show a willingness to achieve results.

According to Obama but since January there has been progress, the Palestinians must continue to make more safety and stop the incitement to violence, while Israelis, who have raised serious steps to curb settlement activity must transform these proposals in real actions.

In addition, Arab states should take steps to promote peace, he said.

It is time demonstrate the flexibility and common sense and sense of commitment necessary to achieve our goals. The permanent status negotiations must begin and must do so soon. Above all, we give these negotiations a chance to succeed, said U.S. President .

This, he stressed, depends on all parties to act with a sense of urgency.

Today's meeting was preceded by two separate Obama's bilateral meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas, which lasts approximately 40 minutes each.

Following the meeting, Mitchell, present in all of them acknowledged that while Israelis and Palestinians are agreed on the need to resume peace talks as soon as possible, differences remain on how to proceed.

Palestinians accuse Israel of rejecting the settlement freeze in the occupied territories. They also protest that Israel wants peace talks begin without being willing to tackle issues like Palestinian refugees or the final status of Jerusalem, which both sides claim as their capital.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, reached earlier this year to power the head of a rightist coalition, contends that the fate of the settlements should be decided during the negotiations and the Palestinians have taken an uncompromising position.

In this regard, Mitchell insisted on the issue of settlements, which for the U.S. Nothing is a precondition.

What we want is to start negotiations. The United States does not impose conditions and ask others which does impose, he said in a clear reference to objections Palestinian.

Since coming to power, Obama has pushed Israel to freeze settlements, which had annoyed the government of Netanyahu.

But today's meeting seemed to point to a change in the U.S. approach: if so far Washington had spoken to freeze settlements, Obama now simply referred to restrain the practice.

Subsequently, the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, insisted that the Israeli Government should completely halt settlement expansion to resume the peace process.

Our position has been and remains to be must fulfill the obligations outlined the roadmap peace plan for Middle East, he said.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, argued that there is general agreement, including the Palestinian side, that the peace process must begin again as soon as possible without preconditions.

The White House had tried to play down expectations for today's meeting, indicating that no announcements were expected and tried to emphasize the involvement U.S. President staff to achieve Middle East peace that has eluded his predecessors.

Since coming to power, the U.S. President has insisted that a Middle East peace, including the coexistence of two States The Israeli and Palestinian, is a priority, but so far the deadlock persists.