Mitchell Threatens Withholding US Loan Guarantees to Pressure the Israeli Occupation Government

Mitchell: U.S. May Cut Aid To Israel In Two Years

Sunday January 10, 2010 14:01 by IMEMC & Agencies

The United Stats may legally cut its international aid to Israel in two years if peace talks fail with Palestine. George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to Middle East threatened sanctions against Israel if it fails to succeed in making peace with Palestine. These rhetoric came on the eve of Mitchel's trip to the region.

According to Ynet, Mitchell unveiled this position to PBS's Charlie Rose on January 6. He said the peace talks should not last more than two years. This means that the sanctions may take place in two years of Mitchel's position prevails.

Currently U.S. legislation allows Israel to raise fund at low credit rates and improve its credit rating. The last time U.S. had some similar types of sanctions against Israel was during George Bush senior's presidency.

However, Mitchell said that the U.S. will use incentives or sanctions against both countries Israel and Palestine.

Mitchell also said that there is optimism both in Palestine and Israel and said that Israel is supportive to efforts that from day one Palestinian government may function effectively and they have reduced the number of check points that Israel has established in and around the Palestinian areas. In the meanwhile, the president of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas signaled that he may participate in the U.S. backed summit between Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli leadership.

The Palestinians so far have said that they are not impressed with the U.S. request to restart the negotiations without conditions. Palestinians want to see Israel freezing the settlement in the Palestinian territories. Israel has indicated they will partially freeze the settlement process.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Jpost that complete freeze of settlements are required to restart the negotiations.

According to Yitzhak Benhorin's story in Ynet Mitchell will carry letters of "guarantees" to both Israeli and Palestinian sides. Secretary of State Clinton who works very hard to recruit Egypt to get the peace negotiations restarted did not mention anything about those letters.

For the Palestinian side the letters will critique the settlement and will will have the faith that the borders that existed before 1967 between Arabs and Israel should be the base for the negotiation. For Israel, the gesture will be the fact that some demographic changes will be taken into account, meaning some already-existing settlements will be taken into consideration.

Israeli officials irate after Mitchell comments

Published today (updated) 10/01/2010 21:03

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

Israeli officials on Sunday asserted they were "doing just fine" in response to US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell's comments a day earlier that the US was prepared to withhold loan guarantees to pressure Israel into making compromises with the Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation government finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, said "We don't need to use these guarantees ... But several months ago we agreed with the American treasury on guarantees for 2010 and 2011, and there were no conditions," according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Gideon Sa’ar, Israel's education minister, further retorted: "The American administration knows that those who are holding up the negotiations are the Palestinians. Israel made many concessions while the Palestinians didn't do a thing."

He added, "Israel's economy is pretty strong, and the threat wouldn't be appropriate."

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement placing the responsibility for the negotiations' impasse on the Palestinian Authority.

"Everyone realizes that the Palestinian Authority refuses to renew peace talks, while Israel took significant steps to advance the process," the statement said.

Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat announced on Saturday that the PA rejected the US call to renew in talks, reiterating that the Palestinian side maintains its preconditions, including a total halt to settlement expansion across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The international community widely condemned Netanyahu’s 10 month settlement freeze in the West Bank for excluding construction in the occupied parts of Jerusalem. Additionally, the moratorium was met with escalating settlement construction, evictions and demolitions in Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

It was announced on Friday that the US and Jordan would urge Palestinians and Israel to discuss Jerusalem and borders – issues that have been relegated to final-status talks in previous negotiations.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Abbas declared eight preconditions which must be met by Israel in order to bring the Palestinian side back to the negotiating table, including a total settlement freeze and Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders.

"Resolving borders resolves settlements, resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements. I think we need to lift our sights and instead of looking down at the trees, we need to look at the forest," said Clinton after meeting Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh at the State Department.

Peace talks were brought to an abrupt standstill in December 2008 as Israel began its assault on the Gaza Strip.

Mitchell is due to tour Europe, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories this month, and it is anticipated that with him he will bring written guarantees to both Palestinian and Israeli officials.