Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama are set to hold a tripartite summit Tuesday in New York, after several months of U.S. efforts to renew the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Israel expressed satisfaction with the decision, with senior government officials saying that Netanyahu stuck to his principles by refusing to commit to a complete moratorium on building the West Bank settlements. However, they said the upcoming summit will not lead to a chain of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

LAST-MINUTE EFFORTS AND FAILURES

On Friday, visiting U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Netanyahu for what was supposed to be a "crucial meeting" in advance of achieving an agreement between the two sides.

According to Israeli officials, the United States demanded that Israel announce a complete moratorium on building in the West Bank settlements which would last for a year, but Netanyahu only expressed willingness for a six-month freeze.

Netanyahu also reiterated that he would allow the completion of2,500 residential units, on which buildings have already begun, and an additional 455 units, the building permits of which were issued earlier this month.

The hawkish Israeli prime minister also added Israel would continue to build public buildings that are not slated for residential use throughout the West Bank during the entire moratorium period.

According to senior Israeli officials, Mitchell could not insist upon the complete freeze of Israel because in the course of his meeting with Netanyahu, the American did not present any significant reciprocal action of the Palestinians or the Arab states.

Following the meeting with Netanyahu, Mitchell traveled once again to Ramallah, where he met Abbas. After that meeting, Mitchell returned to Jerusalem for an additional talk with Netanyahu. Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Mitchell did not bring with him answers to the basic conditions that Netanyahu had presented for an agreement on the settlement freeze.

After Mitchell traveled back to Washington, Abbas went to Cairo for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. According to Israeli sources who received reports from the Egyptian Presidential Palace after the meeting, Mubarak attempted to persuade Abbas to agree to a meeting with Netanyahu and Obama in New York, but Abbas was not persuaded.

During the press conference held in Cairo, Abbas said "the diplomatic obstacle to the renewal of talks is Israel's evasion of what was agreed upon in the Road Map and especially the first clause which demanded that Israel completely freeze building in the settlements."

Shortly afterwards, Israeli Foreign Ministry released an announcement in response, saying that "the Palestinians are the ones who are preventing the renewal of the peace process, not Israel."

In spite of what looked like a failure to bring about a tripartite meeting, the White House unexpectedly announced on Saturday that they have invited both sides to a meeting on Tuesday in New York, on the side lines of the UN General Assembly.

ISRAEL WELCOMES U.S. INITIATIVE

Israel welcomed the meeting. The PMO responded Sunday that "Netanyahu welcomes the U.S. government's initiative for a meeting with Obama and a tripartite meeting with Obama and Abbas. Because of the summit, Netanyahu pushed forward his departure to New York to Monday."

A senior Israeli official, who declined to give his name, said that "Obama has placed all of his weight behind pushing forward the process between Israel and the Palestinians, and if a meeting was not held, it would be from his perspective a stinging defeat, and that is something that he cannot allow himself to admit."

"The fact that there are no preliminary agreements, neither from the Israeli side nor from the Palestinian side, in advance of the meeting, is satisfying for Netanyahu, because he is the one who always argues that one must go to talks without preconditions," said the official, adding "the ones who demanded preconditions are the Palestinians."

Abbas, from his perspective, was much surprised by the U.S. decision to issue invitations for the meeting without coordinating it with each side and call Mubarak to update him. According to Israeli sources briefed by the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Mubarak told Abbas that currently he has no choice but to go to the meeting.

In Israel, there was also criticism of the U.S. decision. One senior official close to Netanyahu, who asked not to be named, said that "Obama is putting the emphasis only on the settlements issue and has neglected all the rest. To a certain extent, he is responsible for the fact that the Palestinians toughened their stance and refused to meet Netanyahu."

TRIPARTITE MEETING UNLIKELY TO RESUME PEACE TALKS

Netanyahu may have welcomed the Americans for initiating the tripartite meeting, but among his staff, some emphasized that they do not believe the meeting will yield real results.

"The meeting will not be a turning point for renewing the diplomatic negotiations. At the most, the meeting will prepare the ground for the coming future," said Israeli cabinet secretary TzviHauser.

"All the sides understand that these negotiations are not simple, and are in fact problematic. The new U.S. administration has realized that every side which enters this process from a distance understands its complexity, and that there are no shortcuts here," said Hauser.

Hauser's comments echoed a number of similar remarks made by senior U.S. officials to their Israeli counterparts over the past 24 hours. According to U.S. State Department officials, the current assessment is that no joint message will be issued by the three sides at the end of the tripartite meeting.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said he does not think anything positive will come out of the New York meeting.

Nevertheless, Barak is attempting to maintain a small amount of optimism ahead of the meeting, saying that "the Palestinians' opportunity is that there is currently a president with determination to place all of his political fortune on the line in order to ensure that there will be an independent Palestinian state and to solve all of the central problems within two years."

"If we take into account Israel's security needs and the demand that the final agreement should constitute the end of the conflict, this is an opportunity that cannot be missed," he added.

The Israeli opposition, meanwhile, are convinced that Netanyahu's desire to hold a meeting with Abbas without preconditions is designed to buy time and reduce the international pressure currently exerted on Israel.

"Netanyahu is just trying to buy time. He isn't really interested in advancing the diplomatic process and is not ready for the real topics that must be addressed. His desire is simply to satisfy the Americans so that they will take the pressure off Israel and to portray the Palestinians as peace-refusers," said Tzipi Livni, chairwoman of Kadima, the biggest opposition party.

Source: Xinhua