George Mitchell resigns as US Middle East peace envoy

Departure underlines impasse of Israelis and Palestinians; Obama praises his role and earlier success in Northern Ireland The US Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell, has resigned after failing to make any headway in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is to be replaced by his deputy, David Hale, the White House said on Friday. Mitchell, age 77, was a central figure in securing peace in Northern Ireland, but has been unable to replicate that success in the Middle East. His departure underlines the lack of any immediate prospects for a resumption of serious negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Such is the lack of any diplomatic movement that the envoy has not bothered visiting the region since December. In his letter of resignation to Barack Obama, he said his original intention had been to serve two years and he had done longer than that. Obama appointed him special envoy in January 2009, two days after his own inauguration, a time of widespread optimism that some of the world’s most intractable problems might be solved. “I strongly support your vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your administration. It has been an honour for me to again serve our country,” Mitchell said. His resignation is effective from next Friday. Obama described Mitchell’s mission as “the toughest job imaginable” and praised him for leaving “a proud legacy of dedicated public service” both in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East. The White House insisted that his departure did not mean an end to Obama’s efforts to find a solution. Obama is scheduled to make a major speech on the Middle East next Thursday, but it is to be directed broadly, reaching out again to the Islamic world and the post-Osama bin Laden landscape, rather than focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton, joining in praise for Mitchell, said the state department would miss his “steady leadership and wise counsel”. She added: “We will carry forward his commitment to pursue a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.” The former senator established a reputation for skilful negotiation, patience and resilience when he successfully helped broker the Northern Ireland peace deal. Former president Bill Clinton sent him to the Middle East in 2000; he produced a report a year later calling on Israel to stop Jewish settler expansion in the West Bank and the Palestinians to end violence. Israel is at present refusing to negotiate with the new Palestinian unity government, citing the presence of Hamas. But even before that, there was almost no sign of any progress, with the Palestinians objecting in particular to Israel continuing to authorise settler expansion in the West Bank. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is due to visit the US at the end of next week but no movement on peace negotiations is expected. As well as the politics of the Middle East, Mitchell had to contend with the internal politics of Washington, seeing much of his portfolio disappear when Obama appointed the veteran Middle East negotiator, Dennis Ross, to his national security team last year. Marina Ottaway, director of the Middle East programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, blamed a complex set of circumstances rather than anything Mitchell did or did not do, and accused Israel of inflexibility. “What is surprising is that he did not resign earlier … I do not think he ever had anything to work with. He did not have any cards to play.” Daniel Levy, co-director of the Middle East task force at the New America Foundation, said of Mitchell’s resignation: “Either he has advanced a certain approach that has not been taken up or, basically, that the chances of negotiation are diminishing by the day and he is not hanging about.” US foreign policy George Mitchell Middle East peace talks Israel Palestinian territories Middle East Northern Ireland Obama administration US politics United States Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.