[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid and Cnaan Liphshiz - The U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday. The source said Obama's recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization. "In such a situation, the Americans can't continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction," the source said. At a meeting with U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell on Tuesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly argued that any steps taken by Israel would have to be accompanied by assurances that the Arab states would also move forward.
2009-07-02 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive