Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 23/10 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 07. – 20. Dezember 2010 1. Erneuter Stillstand des Friedensprozesses? Drei Monate nach offiziellem Ende des Baustopps in den jüdischen Siedlungen im Westjordanland hat die amerikanische Regierung den Versuch aufgegeben, den israelischen Premierminister Benjamin Netanya­hu zu einer Verlängerung zu bewegen. Zehn Monate lang waren Bautätigkeiten in den meisten Sieldungen eingestellt worden, um Friedensver­handlungen zu ermöglichen. Dabei waren jedoch keine nennenswerten Fortschritte erreicht worden. Am 07. Dezember verkündigte die amerikanische Regierung nun, dass ein erneuter Baustopp keine Grundlage für eine Wiederaufnahme direkter Gespräche böten. Allerdings halten die USA an ihrem Engagement für den Friedensprozess fest. In einer Rede in Washington deutete Außenministerin Hillary Clinton an, dass der Druck auf Netanyahu nun erhöht werde. In den kommenden Wochen sollen indirekte Gespräche mit Hilfe des Nahostsondergesandten George Mitchell fortgesetzt werden. In einem ersten Treffen erklärte Netanyahu sich dazu bereit, alle Grundprobleme des Konflikts zu diskutieren. Stop the peace talks drought “ Very belatedly, the U.S. administration announced the failure of its efforts to persuade Israel to reinstate the freeze on building in the settlements. In doing so, U.S. President Barack Obama saved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from having to put up a political deposit and demonstrate his willingness to pay the balance of the political price that a two-state solution would extract.[...] Instead of celebrating his victory, the prime minister would do well to take seriously Clinton's announce­ment that Washington will demand that both sides show more flexibility on the core issues of the conflict[…]. If Netanyahu seeks to hold on to the remaining trust of the Israeli public and the international community in his„Bar- Ilan vision,‟ he should stop playing hide-and-seek, and during the upcoming shuttle-diplomacy trip of U.S. envoy George Mitchell, he should present his proposal for a final- status arrangement.” HAA 12.12.10 Editorial No substitute for dialoge “ As expected, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US‟s decision to drop its demand for a moratorium on new building in Judea and Samaria as a precondition for direct talks. This cornerstone of US Mideast policy since Presi­dent Barack Obama took office in 2009 has done more harm than good by encouraging Palestinian intransigence.[…] Now, the abrupt change in policy has created a diplomatic vacuum.[…] Only through dialogue can we and the Palestinians hope to reach a lasting peace based on mutual respect and recognition. And it is not enough for Israel to be willing to make painful compromises, as it has shown itself to be time and again in recent years. The Palestinians, too, must be forthcoming. […] A 10-month building freeze all too evidently did not generate a change in the Palestinian stance. And the US apparently concluded that an additional three-month freeze would yield no dramatic shift, either.” JPO 14.12.10 Editorial Rest in peace “ Peace may be a dream- but it is not our dream. The time has come to recognize the fact that Israel uses the rhetoric of peace, but does very little on the practical level toward achieving it.[…] That efforts to renew direct negotiations failed, less than six months after being launched in Washington, 1