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| Obama's visit to Israel criticised as a 'maintenance trip' without peace plan | Obama's visit to Israel criticised as a 'maintenance trip' without peace plan |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Barack Obama will present no new Middle East peace initiative when he makes his first visit as president to Israel next week, the White House confirmed on Thursday. | Barack Obama will present no new Middle East peace initiative when he makes his first visit as president to Israel next week, the White House confirmed on Thursday. |
| Obama is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday at the start of a three-day trip that will also take in the West Bank and Jordan, a tour critics have said is largely devoid of substance. | Obama is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday at the start of a three-day trip that will also take in the West Bank and Jordan, a tour critics have said is largely devoid of substance. |
| Visits by US presidents or secretaries of states are often accompanied by announcements of new drives for peace. But Obama's overtures in his first term were humiliatingly rebuffed by the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and the focus of his second term so far has been on domestic issues. | Visits by US presidents or secretaries of states are often accompanied by announcements of new drives for peace. But Obama's overtures in his first term were humiliatingly rebuffed by the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and the focus of his second term so far has been on domestic issues. |
| Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, briefing journalists on Thursday ahead of the visit, lowered expectations about Israel and Palestine. "We have been very clear this visit is not about trying to lay down a new initiative or complete our work on a particular issue," he said. | Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, briefing journalists on Thursday ahead of the visit, lowered expectations about Israel and Palestine. "We have been very clear this visit is not about trying to lay down a new initiative or complete our work on a particular issue," he said. |
| Peace discussions with the Palestinians ended in 2010 primarily over continued Jewish settlement expansion on the West Bank. | Peace discussions with the Palestinians ended in 2010 primarily over continued Jewish settlement expansion on the West Bank. |
| No decisions are scheduled during the visit on other Middle East issues such as Iran's nuclear programme or intervention in Syria. | No decisions are scheduled during the visit on other Middle East issues such as Iran's nuclear programme or intervention in Syria. |
| Foreign policy analysts in Washington questioned why Obama was visiting the region with so little to offer, with one describing it as pointless and another as a "maintenance trip". Another described it as top-heavy with tourist venues and photo-opportunities and short on substance. | Foreign policy analysts in Washington questioned why Obama was visiting the region with so little to offer, with one describing it as pointless and another as a "maintenance trip". Another described it as top-heavy with tourist venues and photo-opportunities and short on substance. |
| Obama is to visit one of the most popular destinations in Jordan, the abandoned desert city of Petra, and he will see an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Israeli museum. He will also visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. | Obama is to visit one of the most popular destinations in Jordan, the abandoned desert city of Petra, and he will see an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Israeli museum. He will also visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. |
| He will hold talks with Netanyahu, the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah of Jordan. | He will hold talks with Netanyahu, the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah of Jordan. |
| The White House said one of the highlights of his trip would be a speech direct to Israelis, mainly students, in Jerusalem. The Israelis had proposed a number of options including an address to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, that the White House opted against. | The White House said one of the highlights of his trip would be a speech direct to Israelis, mainly students, in Jerusalem. The Israelis had proposed a number of options including an address to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, that the White House opted against. |
| The Jerusalem speech acts as a bookend to Obama's speech at Cairo university in 2009 early in his first term when he called for a new beginning in the Middle East. High expectations raised by the Cairo speech have yet to be met. | The Jerusalem speech acts as a bookend to Obama's speech at Cairo university in 2009 early in his first term when he called for a new beginning in the Middle East. High expectations raised by the Cairo speech have yet to be met. |
| Rhodes said there was value in the new government in Israel and the new government in the US having a broad strategic conversation at this time. | Rhodes said there was value in the new government in Israel and the new government in the US having a broad strategic conversation at this time. |
| "With a new government you do not expect again to close the deal on any one major initiative but on the other hand you want to begin a broad conversation about all these issues on which we are co-operating on a day-to-day basis," Rhodes said. | "With a new government you do not expect again to close the deal on any one major initiative but on the other hand you want to begin a broad conversation about all these issues on which we are co-operating on a day-to-day basis," Rhodes said. |
| "Obviously there are going to be significant decisions in the months and years ahead about Iran, about Syria, about Israel-Palestinian peace and by having this opportunity to speak to Israeli leaders, it can frame the decisions that will ultimately come down the line." | "Obviously there are going to be significant decisions in the months and years ahead about Iran, about Syria, about Israel-Palestinian peace and by having this opportunity to speak to Israeli leaders, it can frame the decisions that will ultimately come down the line." |
| On Syria, Obama is resistant to US military assistance or intervention, though happy to press Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Western allies such as Britain and France to do so. | On Syria, Obama is resistant to US military assistance or intervention, though happy to press Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Western allies such as Britain and France to do so. |
| Unlike Obama, new US secretary of state John Kerry supports intervention but there is little backing elsewhere in Washington other than from individual senators such as Republican John McCain. | Unlike Obama, new US secretary of state John Kerry supports intervention but there is little backing elsewhere in Washington other than from individual senators such as Republican John McCain. |
| Obama will press Netanyahu to hold off on an air strike on Iran for at least another year to allow sanctions time to work. | Obama will press Netanyahu to hold off on an air strike on Iran for at least another year to allow sanctions time to work. |
| Haim Malka, author of Crossroads: The Future of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership, who is based in Washington at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, did not anticipate any surprises emerging from the visit. | Haim Malka, author of Crossroads: The Future of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership, who is based in Washington at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, did not anticipate any surprises emerging from the visit. |
| "This trip is about managing the Middle East problems, not about solving those problems. I don't think the president by design is going to make the Middle East the centrepiece of his second term and yet the Middle East will still affect the president and the second term agenda in surprising ways," Malka said. | "This trip is about managing the Middle East problems, not about solving those problems. I don't think the president by design is going to make the Middle East the centrepiece of his second term and yet the Middle East will still affect the president and the second term agenda in surprising ways," Malka said. |
| Marwan Muasher, former Jordanian foreign minister and the country's first ambassador to Israel, is pessimistic about the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian deal in the near future, viewing the window for a two-state solution as closed, partly as a result of Israel's continued expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. "It is like two people arguing over a slice of pizza while one of them is eating it," said Muasher, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace | Marwan Muasher, former Jordanian foreign minister and the country's first ambassador to Israel, is pessimistic about the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian deal in the near future, viewing the window for a two-state solution as closed, partly as a result of Israel's continued expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. "It is like two people arguing over a slice of pizza while one of them is eating it," said Muasher, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace |
| Aaron David Miller, who was an adviser to six US secretaries of state on Israeli-Arab negotiations and is now at the Washington-based Wilson Center, predicted that while Obama will not go to a "high-profile initiative yet", if within 18 months there is no deal taking shape, he will set out his own parameters. "I think he is prepared to do that, because I don't believe he is prepared to leave office without trying to put his mark on an issue that so frustrated him during his first term," he said. | Aaron David Miller, who was an adviser to six US secretaries of state on Israeli-Arab negotiations and is now at the Washington-based Wilson Center, predicted that while Obama will not go to a "high-profile initiative yet", if within 18 months there is no deal taking shape, he will set out his own parameters. "I think he is prepared to do that, because I don't believe he is prepared to leave office without trying to put his mark on an issue that so frustrated him during his first term," he said. |
| Obama's commitment to Israel is viewed with suspicion by many Israelis, even though he has increased military aid to the country. One test of that commitment is whether he cuts – and by how much – US aid to Israel as a result of the US sequester crisis that mandates spending cuts across the federal budget. | Obama's commitment to Israel is viewed with suspicion by many Israelis, even though he has increased military aid to the country. One test of that commitment is whether he cuts – and by how much – US aid to Israel as a result of the US sequester crisis that mandates spending cuts across the federal budget. |
| Despite suspicions among Israelis about Obama's commitment to Israel, the White House says military aide to Israel has increased during his administration, part of it spent on building the country's air defences, known as the Iron Dome. Obama is to visit an Iron Dome battery during his visit. | Despite suspicions among Israelis about Obama's commitment to Israel, the White House says military aide to Israel has increased during his administration, part of it spent on building the country's air defences, known as the Iron Dome. Obama is to visit an Iron Dome battery during his visit. |
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