Mideast peace will not come at expense of Lebanon
US Middle East envoy George Mitchell sought to reassure President Michel Sleiman on Wednesday that his country’s efforts toward peace would not come at the expense of Lebanon.
The envoy said that the US adheres to the idea that any solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees should not be at Lebanon’s expense.
Mitchell met Sleiman on Wednesday to discuss the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process and the thorny issue of Palestinian refugees, according to a statement released by the Lebanese presidency.
There are concerns among many in Lebanon that a peace deal could prompt many Palestinian refugees to stay permanently, altering the country’s delicate sectarian balance. The majority of the refugees are Sunni Muslims.
Mitchell, who travelled to Beirut from occupied Jerusalem, made no comment after his 20-minute meeting with Sleiman.
The Lebanese presidency said the two men discussed US efforts to reach a comprehensive Mideast peace, and the fate of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who live in Lebanon.
Mitchell’s stop in Beirut on Wednesday evening took place shortly after the Lebanese head of state reappointed Saad Hariri as prime minister, giving him a second chance on forming a new government.
As The Daily Star went to press, it was unclear whether Mitchell planned to meet with any other officials Wednesday evening or whether he planned to stay in Beirut overnight.
Mitchell’s stop in Beirut took place after a round of meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Mitchell’s meeting with Netanyahu on Wednesday morning revealed no sign yet of a deal on an occupied West Bank settlement freeze, but the two plan to meet again on Friday.
The decision to extend discussions kept open the possibility of a meeting next week involving Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama and Abbas, who all plan to attend a UN General Assembly meeting.
Failure to arrange at least an informal encounter between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders would be a setback for Obama, who has been trying to wring a settlement housing construction freeze from Netanyahu and restart peace talks.
Diplomats and officials in the Israeli and Palestinian camps said some form of trilateral meeting in New York seemed likely. This might signal a resumption of some form of “peace process” but not necessarily resolve any key disputes.
“There’ll probably be some kind of handshake because this is what Obama wants,” one Israeli official said.
“But it’s not going anywhere longer term,” he added, citing Abbas’ internal opposition from Islamists and Netanyahu’s pro-settler allies.
A photo opportunity at the start of Netanyahu and Mitchell’s Wednesday meeting appeared to speak volumes. After a stiff handshake for the media, Netanyahu turned his back on Mitchell with scarcely a word and strode into his office, leaving Obama’s envoy to follow behind.
Mitchell has been trying to work out a deal with a defiant Netanyahu, who has resisted Obama’s call to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, in the most serious rift in US-Israeli relations in a decade.
Netanyahu has said he would be prepared to limit temporarily the scope of building but projects under way would continue.
Obama also wants Arab nations to take steps toward recognizing Israel. They have so far expressed reluctance.
A statement issued by Netanyahu’s office after Wednesday’s meeting with Mitchell gave no indication any substantive progress was made: “The prime minister and Senator Mitchell had a good meeting this morning,” the statement said.
“They decided to continue their discussions in a meeting that will take place this coming Friday, after Senator Mitchell returns to Israel from visits to countries in the region.” Mitchell was expected to hold talks in Cairo on Thursday and plans to visit Jordan.
Abbas has made a resumption of peace negotiations with Israel, suspended since December, conditional on halting settlement activity as stipulated by a US-backed 2003 peace “road map” charting a course toward Palestinian statehood.
But an aide to Abbas said he would find it hard to refuse a request from Obama to meet with Netanyahu, despite pressure from Fatah party allies who felt a gesture toward Israel without a halt to settlement would hand a tactical victory to Hamas Islamists who run the Gaza Strip.