With Israeli-Palestinian talks under American mediation failing to achieve any breakthrough and President Barack Obama declaring his intention for a “pause” in peace efforts, the US special envoy for the negotiations may also quit, a media report here said.
Martin Indyk is considering resigning as special envoy, said Israeli officials close to the discussions who shared the information with Ha’aretz daily on conditions of anonymity “due to the issue’s sensitivity”.
The officials told the daily that Indyk had already informed the Brookings Institution, where he is a vice president and director for foreign policy, that he might soon be returning to his post from which he took a leave of absence nine months ago when the negotiations started. Two senior officials at Brookings approached by Ha’aretz with questions on the matter reportedly refused to comment.
Israeli officials reportedly cite a report in the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronoth that quotes an unnamed US official, speculated to be Indyk, as blaming Israel for the failure of the talks.According to the report, the senior US official claimed that “the main damage to the peace talks comes from the settlements,” and that, during the talks, “Netanyahu did not move more than an inch”.
Senior Israeli officials told Ha’aretz that these harsh statements are an indication that Indyk is laying the groundwork for his resignation. The US official has however “not made a final decision”.It is believed that it will not be possible to renew the talks in the near future, and the fact that the White House does not want to invest further efforts in the peace process has reinforced the envoy’s desire to leave his post, the report said.
“The atmosphere at the White House since the talks ended is reportedly one of deep frustration that major American efforts over the past nine months have ended in failure”, it said.
A senior European diplomat, who recently met with senior US officials, reportedly said that Obama’s statement about a “pause” in US involvement in the peace process was very clear. “The White House has no desire to do anything now on the Israeli-Palestinian matter,” the diplomat said adding, “They are simply standing aside and not getting involved”.
Secretary of State John Kerry, expected to return to Washington soon after a week-long visit to Africa, will hold meetings to assess the Middle East peace process following which American policy during the “pause” will be known, and also whether the US will release the framework document they had been discussing with the two sides.
During a press conference in Addis Ababa, Kerry hinted that he was considering releasing the document. “What has not been laid out publicly, and what I will do at some appropriate moment of time, is make clear to everybody the progress that was made. These eight months, eight months plus, were not without significant progress in certain areas. And I don’t think anybody wants to lose that progress,” the top US diplomat said. A senior US official told Ha’aretz that Indyk had returned to Washington for consultations with Kerry and the White House.
“Indyk has returned for consultations with the Secretary and the White House, as we assess the next steps in US efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. It’s premature to speculate on what those steps will be,” the official said, adding, it was “inaccurate to say (Indyk) has spoken with President Obama or Secretary Kerry about plans”.