Salon.com > Mahmoud Abbas

Is the two-state solution finally dead?

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Let’s give Mitt Romney some credit for candor on the Middle East, if for almost nothing else. President Obama’s soaring rhetoric in his campaign-style speech this week in Jerusalem, when he urged the Israeli public to “create the change that you want to see” and laid out a moral and philosophical case for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, showed us the leader of the free world at the top of his oratorical game. But Obama didn’t go to Israel with any concrete plan to restart negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, a pair of weakened politicians who lack clear mandates from their own people. Despite vague promises to send Secretary of State John Kerry into the breach in coming weeks, it’s by no means clear that he has one.

Obama: Israel settlements don’t advance “cause of peace”

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's told Israel's leaders the U.S. does not consider settlement activity in the West Bank to be constructive or appropriate.

He says the activity does not advance the cause of peace.

Obama spoke at a news conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Obama says he recognizes that halting settlement activity is tough politically for Israeli leaders.

But he suggests that Palestinians should not make it a condition to resuming peace negotiations with Israel. He says there's no point to negotiations if the expectation is that everything must be figured out in advance.

Palestine poised for U.N. recognition

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:27:00 +0000

Updated 5:18 p.m. (EST): Palestine has succeeded in becoming a nonmember observer state at the U.N. The victory was a landslide with 138 "yes" votes, 41 abstentions and nine "no" votes.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received a standing ovation following his pre-vote speech, in which he asked the General Assembly to issue a "birth certificate" for Palestine.

8:00 a.m. (EST): On Thursday, Palestine is set to win U.N. recognition as a nonmember state, despite aggressive opposition from the U.S.. The result is assured with 132 of the U.N.'s 193 member states having already recognized a putative state of Palestine and pledges from nations including France and Spain to vote "yes." What the upgrade for Palestine to "nonmember" state will mean -- especially in terms of conflict resolution -- is less clear.

For many U.N. member states, the vote is a means to strengthen Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' hand over his rival Hamas, especially following the militant group's bump in popularity following Israel's military assault on Gaza this month. Abbas has said he will use a victory in the General Assembly to return to the negotiating table with Israel and push his condition that Israel freeze the growth of settlements.