&91;2&93;_a.jpg "Photo: CNN")
Obama, resolute
Photo: CNN
PA source: Obama to put pressure on Israel
Senior Palestinian official tells Ynet that US president plans to impose track towards two-state solution by the end of 2009
The administration of US President Barack Obama plans to take some "drastic steps" in 2009 regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a senior Palestinian official told Ynet Friday.
According to the source, the American initiative will force both sides, especially Israel, into a clear track towards the creation of a Palestinian state.
The official, who is involved in political processes from the Palestinian Authority's side, said that he spoke in depth with Obama advisors about the issue.
He claims that statements by the American representatives clearly indicate their intention to put an end to avoidances of the peace process. "By the end of the year, there will be dramatic progress in the political process," he declared.
"The Israelis understand that the current situation is untenable," he said. "The American government is consolidating a policy that will amaze both sides. It intends to enforce its will on both sides, particularly Israel."
He added that Obama is determined to put an end to settlement construction but that "the settlements won't be the end of the story."
The official estimated that the US president is tired of the failed initiatives of his predecessor, George W. Bush, which harmed American credibility in the eyes of the Palestinians in the Arab world.
As such, the source said, he intends to put forth an initiative that will turn "the words of two states into deeds."
"From our talks with various American representatives we understood that by the end of the year there will be a real peace process that will include a formula written out by the Americans. It is supposed to be clear, without a lot of Israeli double-speak, and at the end of the day, a Palestinian state will come to be on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital," he said.
Obama, currently visiting in Germany, said in a Friday morning press conference with Angela Merkel that there is a need to advance the solution of two states for two people, in order to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The two-state solution was also a central theme of his Thursday speech to the Muslim world, delivered in Cairo.
