1.    Trilateral Meeting & Presidential Address to UN     
2.    Church Leaders Join Call for Strong US leadership for Holy Land Peace
3.    CMEP Letter on Gaza Water & Sanitation Crisis
4.    State Department Response to CMEP Letter on Jerusalem Evictions

1.    Trilateral Meeting & Presidential Address to UN

On September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, President Obama held meetings with President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu in order to lay the groundwork for the resumption of negotiations and to create a positive context for these negotiations to succeed. The President held bilateral meetings with each leader and then the three officials met collectively in a trilateral meeting.

Following the bilateral meetings, the President offered remarks about his Middle East peace initiative and assured listeners that progress is being made. He highlighted that Palestinians have made security gains, but noted they need to do more to stop incitement and to move forward with negotiations. He also acknowledged that Israelis have taken actions to increase freedom of movement for Palestinians and have discussed ways to limit settlement activity. However, he urged the Israelis to translate these discussions on settlements into real action. The President then voiced a more critical tone and said, "Simply put it is past time to talk about starting negotiations-it is time to move forward. It is time to show flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that's necessary to achieve our goals…And more importantly, we must give those negotiations the opportunity to succeed."

During his speech to the UN General Assembly the President reiterated his message that more progress is needed from both the Palestinians and the Israelis. President Obama highlighted the incitement issue on the Palestinian side and commented on Israeli settlement activity saying, "We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."

The President also affirmed that negotiations should re-launch without preconditions, a message certainly intended for President Abbas who has refused to participate in formal talks with the Israelis until there is a complete settlement freeze.

Finally, the President stated clearly his goal was to see "two states living side by side in peace and security…," and that his Administration will also be pursuing peace with Israel and its many neighbors by developing "regional initiatives with multilateral participation, alongside bilateral negotiations." The President ended his comments with a reaffirmation of his commitment and said, "even though there will be setbacks and false starts and tough days, I will not waiver in my pursuit of peace."

Additional commentary:

"More than just a photo-op," Daniel Levy, Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009

"Obama may have lost some face in the Middle East, but don't write him off yet," Jonathan Freedland, Guardian, September 22, 2009

"Obama is doubling down, not backing down, on Middle East peace," Hussein Ibish, Israel Policy Forum, September 24, 2009

2.   Church Leaders Join Call for Strong US leadership for Holy Land Peace

Prominent Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other leaders issued a statement September 22 calling for strong U.S. leadership to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Commenting on the letter, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, of the Armenian Orthodox Church said, "Christians are bound together by a Biblical call to peacemaking and we yearn for a time soon when all God's children in the Holy Land can live in peace and security. The opportunity to change the status quo has presented itself and American Christians do not want to waste this precious moment."

The letter asserts that this is a time of great opportunity and urgency and a comprehensive Middle East peace is a fundamental American interest that crosses racial, ethnic and religious lines. It expresses support for the President's determination to bring the conflict to an end and to six principles including, "Israel's right to exist in security and the right of the Palestinian people to a viable, sovereign and secure state of their own."

Commenting on the letter, The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said, "Now there is an opportunity for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and this is a moment that must be seized…Now is the time to finally resolve this conflict through a negotiated resolution so that all God's children may live and thrive."

The letter concludes with a pledge by the signatories to work with the President to forge the path to peace and security for the Middle East and to stand up for those who hope for a better future.

To view the full letter with signatories, click here

To view press coverage of the letter, please visit the following:

"Church leaders support Obama on Mideast conflict," Ethan Cole, Christian Post, September 23, 2009

"Diverse interfaith leaders call for comprehensive Middle East peace plan," Matthew Davies, Episcopal Life, September 22, 2009

"A Middle East peace for Americans," Amjad Atallah, The Huffington Post, September 22, 2009

3.  CMEP Letter on Gaza Water & Sanitation Crisis

On September 24, CMEP sent a letter to Secretary Clinton in response to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator's recent report that approximately 60 percent of Gaza's population does not have continuous access to water, and some 10,000 have no access to the water network. The report also found that the pre-existing water and sanitation problems in Gaza were made worse by the Israeli military actions taken earlier this year, and by the closure of Gaza's borders, which has prevented needed supplies for maintenance and operation of water and sanitation facilities from entering Gaza.

The letter expresses grave concern about the water and sanitation crisis in Gaza and urges the U.S. to "exert every effort to address the water crisis by ending restrictions on humanitarian goods and opening Gaza's borders in a secure manner to reconstruction and repair materials."

To view the letter, click here

4.  State Department Response to CMEP Letter on Jerusalem Evictions

Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman responded on behalf of Secretary Clinton to CMEP's letter of concern this summer about the eviction of 50 Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah section of East Jerusalem that were immediately replaced by Israeli settlers.

Feltman affirmed, "The Department of State remains in close consultation with the Government of Israel regarding the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. We have expressed concern over these and all actions that pre-judge final status issues between Israel and the Palestinians. We believe that to further the prospects for peace, the parties' actions should encourage mutual confidence."

To view the response letter, click here

 

 

 

 

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