BICOM

According to an article published in Haaretz today, the European Union is promoting a new initiative for peace between Palestinians and Israelis, based on US President Barack Obama’s 19 May speech. The paper today published details of the plan, gleaned from a letter sent by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The letter called for the urgent convening of the Quartet as a precursor to the launching of a new peace plan. According to Haaretz, the letter was coordinated with the governments of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The letter included a statement of opposition to unilateral moves by either side. It noted Obama’s speech of 19 May and expresses support for the principles of “Borders based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, and firm security guarantees,” as a basis for the resolution of the conflict. The letter called for the Quartet to issue a ‘reference framework’ to the parties as a basis for a return to talks.

Washington, meanwhile, is not enamored of the new European initiative, according to Haaretz. Instead, the US is seeking to obtain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for a return to negotiations with the Palestinians on the basis of the principles laid out by Obama. Netanyahu, however, is not expected to endorse these principles, because of objections to the reference to the 1967 borders.

Netanyahu, for his part, reiterated yesterday that endorsement by the UN General Assembly of a Palestinian state would hinder the peace process. Speaking after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister said that UN endorsement would serve to harden Palestinian positions, thus making a successful conclusion to negotiations harder to achieve. Berlusconi also repeated the previously stated Italian position opposing a Palestinian motion in the United Nations General Assembly.