BICOM

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that Washington is preparing a new push to reach a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace. Clinton said that President Barack Obama will reveal the details of US policy in the weeks ahead. Clinton’s remarks were made in a speech to Arab and American policymakers on US policy toward the Middle East. She mentioned also countering Iran’s threats and defeating al-Qaida as key US goals. Clinton’s remarks follow the cancellation of a Quartet meeting that was scheduled for Friday (15/4). Reports suggest that the US objected to a European initiative to present a document that would set the parameters for a final-status solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli officials noted that the US move on the Quartet underlined Israel’s diplomatic dependence on Washington at the present time, while Clinton’s speech made clear the Administration’s own determination to secure the establishment of a Palestinian state. Officials, quoted in Ynetnews, sounded pessimistic regarding chances of preventing the endorsement of a Palestinian state by the UN General Assembly in September. They noted that the US, given its own stances in this regard, was unlikely to strongly oppose such a move, and in any case does not have the ability to veto General Assembly resolutions. Moves toward presenting an Israeli peace plan, meanwhile, are currently under way, according to officials quoted by Ynetnews.