Meeting for the first time since President Obama took office, members of the “Quartet” – the sponsors of the Road Map peace plan that includes the U.S., United Nations, European Union and Russia – again called on Israel to end all building in communities built on land acquired in the 1967 war and to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The meeting was held in Trieste, Italy, where the foreign ministers were gathered for a meeting of the G-8, which issued the same call to Israel. Israel, however, continues to insist that it will accommodate the natural growth of those communities, insisting that any government would fulfill such obligations to its citizens. The Obama administration recently attacked Israel’s contention that it had a tacit agreement with previous U.S. administrations on the issue of a natural growth exception, insisting that all documentation of previous negotiations had been scrutinized and that no indication of Israel’s asserted agreement was found. But last week, Elliot Abrams, who headed the Middle East desk in the Bush White House’s National Security Administration, said the Obama contention is wrong and that there was such an understanding between President George W. Bush and the Israeli government.
Obama Mideast envoy George Mitchell abruptly cancelled a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu set for Paris last week. Israeli Defense Minister Barak is due to meet with Mitchell in Washington on Monday on a damage- control mission and in an effort to find a solution that will allow Israel the ability to meet its natural growth demands but protect President Obama from appearing as though he caved in to the Israelis.