President Barack Obama will bring an “urgent” peacemaking agenda to Israel on his upcoming visit, focusing on the region and the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro said on Wednesday.
Shapiro spoke a day after the White House announced Obama will visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan in the spring, at the start both his second term and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s third term in office. Obama’s previous term saw relations with Netanyahu deteriorate in part over failed talks with the Palestinians but also due to the two leaders’ different world views. The visit will be Obama’s first as president to the staunch US ally.
Shapiro gave several interviews to Israeli media on Wednesday morning with the same message.
“We have a very urgent agenda,” Shapiro told Army radio. “We have a very complex agenda about Iran, Syria and the need to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, so it’s important to begin as fast as possible,” he said.
The White House has not released the date of Obama’s trip or details about Obama’s itinerary, but Israel’s Channel 10 reported it had been scheduled for March 20. The visit raises expectations that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which collapsed about four years ago, can be rekindled.
Palestinians refuse to resume the talks unless Israel stops building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, although the Jewish state has stepped up construction in the territories since the UN recognised a de facto state of Palestine there in November. Israel says all issues, including territorial disputes, must be resolved through negotiations. It has frequently called for talks to be restarted.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said he welcomes the visit, which he hopes will result in the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.