Rice faces uphill battle to revive Mideast peace
Source: Reuters
By Sue Pleming BERLIN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - When the mood became tense between Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice invited her guests onto the balcony of her hotel suite overlooking Jerusalem's disputed Old City. The symbolism cannot have been lost on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who never came close to seriously discussing the fate of the city Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed unilaterally. The deal this month to form a unity government between Hamas, which Washington classifies as a terrorist group, and Abbas's Fatah party, may have torpedoed any plans to put "final status" issues such as Jerusalem, refugees and the outlines of a new Palestinian state at the top of the summit's agenda. But Rice, who wraps up her trip in Berlin on Thursday after talks with world powers on the Middle East, lists resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis as a top priority in President George W. Bush's last two years in office. "It takes hard work, it takes patience, it takes perseverance, it takes getting up, you know, after a bad day and trying to make a better day. And that's what I'm going to do. So as long as I'm Secretary of State, that's what I'm going to do," she told reporters travelling with her. After the unity government was formed, Rice herself sought to lower expectations over the outcome of the summit. The results were predictably modest -- a promise by Abbas and Olmert to meet again soon but no fixed date. Rice's staff tried to put a positive spin on the outcome by pointing out it was important the meeting had taken place at all and saying that a new channel of communication had been opened between the two leaders. Former U.S. ambassador to Egypt and Israel, Ned Walker, said he did not think Rice had wasted her time. "She got them talking again," said Walker. MOMENTUM OF PLANNERS But some analysts were sceptical and one Palestinian official called it nothing more than a photo opportunity. "This trip was driven by the momentum of planners, but there is no momentum in the peace process itself," said Middle East expert Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "People on both sides are increasingly exhausted, but there is less and less consensus on either the Israeli or Palestinian side how to move forward," he added. The U.S. strategy of continuing to isolate Hamas and maintain an economic boycott is also under pressure among some quartet members -- the group of international powers comprising Russia, the United Nations and the European Union and the United States who met in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss how to proceed. Alterman said the U.S.-led boycott and isolation strategy had enabled Hamas to blame all of their shortcomings on the punitive actions of the West. "We've (U.S.) managed to talk to all manner of odious governments in the past, and we've used those talks to our benefit. I'm not sure what we've gotten out of giving Hamas the silent treatment, and I don't see any signs that either they are losing popularity among Palestinians, or that Abu Mazen and Fatah have benefited politically," he said. The U.S. strategy is still to bolster Abbas, even though he has formed a coalition with Hamas. "The West is still looking to Abbas, but that isn't working. In the end, the United States and other Western countries will have to find a way to talk to Hamas because any agreement without Hamas is pointless," said Isabel Schaefer, Middle East expert at Berlin's Free University. Former U.S. ambassador Walker said Rice's next step would be to sustain cooperation with Israel, try to encourage a continuation of contact between Olmert and Abbas, while giving the Europeans some room to probe options. "Let the stew simmer," said Walker. Perhaps the most telling sign of how much work needs to be done to revitalize the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was the image of Rice standing alone in front of a bland blue backdrop to announce the two leaders would meet again. There was no traditional joint news conference and Rice took no questions, telling reporters afterwards it was a "sensitive time" and she had not wanted to expose her guests to questions they could not answer.
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