Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to meeting ‘in principle’
● Despite earlier setbacks, Russia is pushing forward with its attempt at brokering a peace
Russia’s foreign ministry announced yesterday that the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders have agreed “in principle” to meet in Moscow for talks in what the Russians hope will relaunch the Middle Wast peace process after more than a two-year break.
The comments indicate that Russia is pushing forward with its attempt to become a peace broker after a setback earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said a meeting scheduled in Moscow this week had been delayed at Israel’s request.
While bringing the men together would represent an accomplishment for Moscow, a diplomatic breakthrough seems unlikely.
Mr Abbas and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain far apart on key issues, and their differences have prevented meaningful talks since Mr Netanyahu took office in 2009. The last round of peace talks broke down two and a half years ago, with no progress reported during months of negotiations brokered by the US.
The Palestinian leader has demanded that Israel halt settlement construction on occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians and carry out a prisoner release that was promised during the last round of talks. Mr Netanyahu has rejected the terms and said the meeting should take place without conditions.
In Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said yesterday that Mr Abbas and Mr Netanyahu had accepted an invitation to meet in the Russian capital, but a date has not been set yet. There also was no word on whether the two had settled on an agenda for the meeting – the key stumbling block in preparations.
“The most important thing is to pick the right timing,” Mr Zakharova said. “Intensive contacts on this are ongoing.”
During a visit to Poland on Tuesday, Mr Abbas said a meeting in Moscow had been scheduled this week, but that Israel had delayed it at the last minute. Mr Abbas and Mr Netanyahu exchanged a brief handshake last year at a global climate change conference in Paris but have not held a public working meeting since 2010.
“If the Palestinian Authority can say with one voice that they are willing to meet without preconditions, then prime minister Netanyahu will meet President Abbas,” said the Israeli leader’s spokesman, David Keyes.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian high court in Ramallah has ordered the suspension of local elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip scheduled for 8 October.
The elections would have been the first democratic exercise in the Palestinian territories in a decade but cannot go ahead after disputes between the rival Fatah and Hamas groups over candidate lists as well as the inability to hold the vote in East Jerusalem, which has been annexed by Israel.
“Elections can’t take place in one place and not the other,” the presiding judge of the Ramallah court said in his ruling. “The election can’t take place in Jerusalem and its neighbourhoods. Also, there are problems with the formation of courts in Gaza … Therefore, the court decides to stop the election.”
Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, boycotted the last Palestinian municipal elections in 2012, but was due to participate this year. Fatah and Hamas have not contested an election since 2006 parliamentary polls, which Hamas won. This year’s vote was planned with Mr Abbas under heavy political pressure as opinion polls suggested most Palestinians would like him to step down.
Yesterday’s ruling follows court submissions by Hamas in Gaza against party lists drawn up by Fatah.
The agreement in principle struck between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to meet in Moscow for talks is one that should be cautiously welcomed.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president Mahmoud Abbas are united only by their differences. Save for exchanging a brief handshake at a global climate change conference in Paris last year, the two men have not held a public working meeting since 2010.
Given the chaos that has engulfed the Middle East since then, the confirmation that they may soon come to face to face should be seen as an encouraging development.
Yet there is another disconcerting factor at play, in the form of location for the proposed meeting. Russia is clearly intent on establishing itself as a powerful influence in the region. President Vladimir Putin’s decision to intervene in Syria’s civil war may have taken some western observers by surprise, but in the broad sweep of history, it should be seen as the latest chapter of the country’s geopolitical aspirations.
It would be naive to assume that Russia is acting out of altruism. It has interests in the Middle East, not least those related to plummeting oil and gas prices.
But if the consequence of its actions is a genuine and lasting resumption of the peace process in the region, something the Americans have been unable to achieve, then Russia should be applauded.
That moment has yet to arrive and a fullblown diplomatic breakthrough may never come to fruition. In the meantime, it is only prudent to carefully monitor Russia’s role as peacemaker. We should be wary of allowing untrammelled influence in one of the world’s most crucial and turbulent areas.