Mitchell stresses Washington's commitment to attaining Mideast peace
Mitchell stresses Washington's commitment to attaining Mideast peace
08:33, November 03, 2009 
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U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Monday emphasized his country's commitment to working "seriously" to bring about peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis based on the two-state solution.
Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meets with U.S. Mideast special envoy George Mitchell in Amman, capital of Jordan, Nov. 2, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
The U.S. envoy made the remarks at a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, where he renewed his country's commitment to attaining lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, the Jordan News Agency Petra reported.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated on Monday her country's commitment to the two-state solution before attending a meeting with Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Taieb Fassi Fihri, on the sidelines of the6th meeting of the Forum for the Future.
At the meeting with Mitchell, the Jordanian King called for freezing all "unilateral Israeli measures that threaten opportunities to attain peace, especially the creation of settlements and measures that threaten the identity of Jerusalem and the holy sites in the city."
The King emphasized the need to invest the opportunity at hand to launch "serious and effective" Palestinian-Israeli peace talks that address all final status issues between the two sides, including borders, the issue of Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem.
Abdullah II said future peace negotiations should be in accordance with a specific timeframe to realize the two-state solution.
The King urged the United States to continue to play a leading role in creating the "suitable environment" for launching peace talks that can realize the ultimate objective of the two-state solution, which envisages the creation of a viable, independent and geographically connected Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel in peace and security.
The King held a separate meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday, where he reiterated Jordan's support to the Palestinians' rights, especially their right to statehood, calling on the international community to intensify efforts to create the appropriate atmosphere for peace talks to succeed.
The Jordanian leader and Abbas underlined the need for Israel to halt creation of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and all unilateral measures that undermine peace efforts.
Abbas and Mitchell also held a meeting in Amman. The two sides discussed peacemaking efforts.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Mitchell reiterated the U.S. position of rejecting the continuation of Israeli settlement activities and that the United States will not go back on this position.
Since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, the United States has repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement activities, a matter that the Palestinians set as a condition for the resumption of peace talks, which came to a halt since the election of the right-wing Israeli government earlier this year.
Source: Xinhua
Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meets with U.S. Mideast special envoy George Mitchell in Amman, capital of Jordan, Nov. 2, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
The U.S. envoy made the remarks at a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, where he renewed his country's commitment to attaining lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, the Jordan News Agency Petra reported.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated on Monday her country's commitment to the two-state solution before attending a meeting with Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Taieb Fassi Fihri, on the sidelines of the6th meeting of the Forum for the Future.
At the meeting with Mitchell, the Jordanian King called for freezing all "unilateral Israeli measures that threaten opportunities to attain peace, especially the creation of settlements and measures that threaten the identity of Jerusalem and the holy sites in the city."
The King emphasized the need to invest the opportunity at hand to launch "serious and effective" Palestinian-Israeli peace talks that address all final status issues between the two sides, including borders, the issue of Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem.
Abdullah II said future peace negotiations should be in accordance with a specific timeframe to realize the two-state solution.
The King urged the United States to continue to play a leading role in creating the "suitable environment" for launching peace talks that can realize the ultimate objective of the two-state solution, which envisages the creation of a viable, independent and geographically connected Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel in peace and security.
The King held a separate meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday, where he reiterated Jordan's support to the Palestinians' rights, especially their right to statehood, calling on the international community to intensify efforts to create the appropriate atmosphere for peace talks to succeed.
The Jordanian leader and Abbas underlined the need for Israel to halt creation of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and all unilateral measures that undermine peace efforts.
Abbas and Mitchell also held a meeting in Amman. The two sides discussed peacemaking efforts.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Mitchell reiterated the U.S. position of rejecting the continuation of Israeli settlement activities and that the United States will not go back on this position.
Since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, the United States has repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement activities, a matter that the Palestinians set as a condition for the resumption of peace talks, which came to a halt since the election of the right-wing Israeli government earlier this year.
Source: Xinhua
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