BICOM

Officials representing the Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations) are set to meet today to seek a formula that will enable the renewal of negotiations and avert a UN vote on Palestinian statehood in September. At the Quartet meeting the United Nations will be represented by Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, the US by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and The EU by Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The Quartet is expected, according to Israeli media reports this morning, to issue a statement following the meeting that will endorse US President Barack Obama’s speech on 19 May. The President’s speech called for renewed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, leading to a solution based on the 1967 borders with agreed-upon land swaps. Earlier reports had predicted that the statement might be a prelude to the issuing of an invitation to Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part in a summit. An article in Haaretz this morning, however, suggests that no such invitation will be issued. Instead, according to the report, the Quartet will send a senior delegation to the region. 

Israel’s eight person inner Cabinet met yesterday to discuss the anticipated nature and impact of the Quartet statement. According to Maariv, the cabinet met for 10 hours. The report claims that Netanyahu is willing to accept 1967 borders with land swaps as a basis for talks, if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people and declare the ‘end of the conflict’. Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that Netanyahu would agree to base talks on the 1967 borders with land swaps in exchange for the Obama administration’s ratification of President George W. Bush’s letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding Jewish West Bank settlement blocs coming under Israeli sovereignty and for Palestinian refugees to be resettled in a future Palestinian state. Other reports this morning indicate that there are concerns that the statement could contain last-minute surprises for Israel, similar to Obama’s speech of 19 May.

Further reading

BICOM Analysis: Can the Quartet in July avert September?