US 'regrets' Middle East impasse

Days after dropping settlement freeze bid with Israel, Hillary Clinton says US is "frustrated" by the lack of progress. Last Modified: 11 Dec 2010 06:24 GMT

Hillary Clinton said the US will press on for a solution but that it was ultimately up to the parties themselves [Reuters] Hillary Clinton has said the United States alone cannot bring peace to the Middle East, and that it was up to the parties themselves to forge a deal on the settlements issue. In a speech in Washington, the US secretary of state said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will have to first make some major compromises on the core issues. Clinton expressed frustration with the impasse and made it clear that the parties themselves are ultimately responsible for settling their long-standing conflict, but insisted that the US administration will "not lose hope". She said the US will keep pressing for a solution, and called on Israelis and Palestinians to set aside their differences. "It is no secret that the parties have a long way to go and that they have not yet made the difficult decisions that peace requires. "And like many of you, I regret that we have not gotten farther, faster," she told participants at a Saban Forum, a Mideast policy seminar sponsored by the Brookings Institution think tank on Friday. Sticking points Clinton spoke just days after US-brokered direct talks with Israel came to a halt. The US on Wednesday dropped its bid to persuade Israel to renew a freeze in West Bank settlement building, saying that weeks of efforts to broker a new freeze and resuscitate the peace talks had gone nowhere. The freeze is a key Palestinian demand for returning to the talks stalled since an earlier slowdown in construction expired in late September. In her speech, Clinton also said that the parties "have often not been ready to take the necessary steps". "Going forward, they must take responsibility and make the difficult decisions that peace requires. This begins with a sincere effort to see the world through the other side's eyes, to try to understand their perspective and positions. "Palestinians must appreciate Israel's legitimate security concerns. And Israelis must accept the legitimate territorial aspirations of the Palestinian people. Ignoring the other side's needs is in the end self-defeating," added Clinton. Clinton meeting Before her remarks, Clinton met senior officials from both sides, including the Palestinian prime minister, the lead Palestinian negotiator, the Israeli defense minister, Israel's former foreign minister and the UN special envoy for the region. Following Clinton to the podium, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, predicted that without an Israeli-Palestinian peace, the cycle of Middle East violence will be perpetuated. Barak said Israel needs the "political wisdom" to find a way to a two-state solution – a secure Israel existing side-by-side with an independent Palestinian state. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, after Friday's meeting with Clinton blamed the Israeli government for the breakdown in talks and said the Palestinians would continue to consult with the US, the UN, the European Union and Arab League on how to proceed. "They are alone responsible for the derailment of the peace process. The Israeli government had a choice between settlements and peace and they chose settlements," he said, adding that the Palestinian position remains the same.

Source: Agencies