Rice: Talks on core issues ahead
US Secretary of State meets Jewish leaders, tells them Israelis should take advantage of Bush's friendly attitude before next year's presidential elections
WASHINGTON - American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seems pleased with the results of the Annapolis Conference, despite the skepticism that has taken root in some Middle Eastern countries: In the wake of the conference, Rice plans to arrange for negotiations on the core issues to begin within a month.
Rice met this weekend with the leaders of 18 American Jewish organizations to assure them that the Bush administration will not pressure Israel but rather facilitate talks between the two sides.
Along with her calming words for the leaders, Rice reminded them that US President George W. Bush has been the friendliest president towards Israel in American history, and that Israel should therefore accelerate talks with Palestinians to achieve as much as possible while Bush still sits in the White House.
Rice is set to meet with Palestinian business men on Monday.
Mollifying the centers of Jewish-American power is important for the Americans, who have appointed a security envoy to judge whether the Israelis and Palestinians are upholding their commitments according to the Road Map.
In order to strike while the iron is still hot, Rice is making great effort to avoid any foot-dragging in the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
In their first meeting, set to take place in another 11 days, the two negotiating teams will discuss procedural matters and the establishment of working groups. In another month, there will be meetings to discuss fulfilling the Road Map, in which the United States will arbitrate.
Jones has his hands full
American envoy James Jones will sit in on these weekly/bi-weekly meetings, which will examine the implementation of the Road Map and determine parameters for fulfilling Palestinian commitments to dismantle the terror infrastructure and that of the Israelis to freeze construction in the settlements and tear down the illegal outposts.
Special Security Envoy and former NATO Commander James Jones will work with Israel and Jordan to solve security issues vis-à-vis the two states and the Palestinians.
Among the issues on Jone's agenda are determining security arrangements in the Jordan Rift Valley
and preventing the West Bank from serving as a launching ground for Qassams aimed at Israel, as happened in Gaza following the withdrawal of Israeli forces two years ago.
Jones will also work to increase the pace and scope of the training Palestinian security forces undergo in order to aide in the creation of a Palestinian army strong enough to confront Hamas, but weak in comparison with Israel and Jordan.
