Pope
Benedict XVI with Tel Aviv's Chief Rabbi, Israel Meir Lau,
left,
and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin,
at the Yad Vashem
Holocaust
memorial in Jerusalem, May 11. The pope's visit is
in
part meant to lay the groundwork for a resumption in the
Israeli-Palestinian
peace process.
Le Figaro, France
The Pope, Obama and the Middle East
"Pope Benedict XVI didn't choose the date of his trip to the
Holy Land by chance. … The next few weeks will show if President Obama has a
chance to guide Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu down the path of peace."
EDITORIAL
by Pierre Rousselin
Translated
By Elise Nussbaum
May
11, 2009
France
- Le Figaro - Original Article (French)
Pope
Benedict XVI didn't choose the date of his trip to the Holy Land by chance.
Everything indicates that within weeks, the foundations will be laid for a resumption
of the peace process.
After
a tentative start, the time has come for Barack Obama to dive into an issue
that preoccupies every American president. Next Monday, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be received at the White House. One cannot
imagine a more critical moment in relations between the two countries than a
meeting between an American president, whose father was a Muslim and who is determined
to make peace with the Arab world, and an Israeli leader opposed to the
two-state solution.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The
explicit appeal of the Holy Father for coexistence between the two peoples “in
secure and internationally recognized borders,” which he made upon his arrival
at the Ben-Gurion airport, could not have been more timely.
The
White House's diplomatic machinery is gearing up. The region’s first leader to
have the honor of being received in Washington, King Abdullah of Jordan, unveiled
the main outlines. The basic plan is to build upon a the Arab peace plan
proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, which provides for a collective normalization
of ties with Israel [including
57 Muslim states] in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state on
the territories occupied [by Israel] in 1967 and an agreement on the fate of
Palestinian refugees.
The
King of Jordan suggested at parallel discussions between Israel on the one
hand, and Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon on the other.
In
Cairo on June 4 - 10 days before the Iranian presidential elections - Obama
will deliver his much-awaited speech to the Muslim world. He is expected to
flesh out his peace plan for the region and perhaps call for an international
conference to be convened this summer.
Preparations
began last week with statements by the U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, calling on
Israel to halt the building of settlements and dismantle illegal outposts on
the West Bank. The creation of a Palestinian state will be "actively pursued"
because this Administration considers it to be in the national interest of the
United States. Like it or not, the Israeli government will have to take that
into account.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Also
last week, emissaries of the State Department and White House were in Damascus
for the second time in less than two months, in order to facilitate Syria's
contribution to a resumption of the peace process.
'THE POPE IN ISRAEL' .
[Hoje Macao, Macao]
Israel
argues that concessions on the Palestinian issue will only be possible once
that Iranian nuclear threat is neutralized. But Washington has turned the
argument around: “Make a gesture toward the Palestinians and we will be better
able to mobilize the Arab world against an Iranian bomb.”
That’s
where we are now. The next few weeks will show if Obama has a chance to guide
Netanyahu down the path of peace.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH
VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US May 12, 2:35pm]
