(Thumbnail image from Foreign Policy)
“The United States is committed to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. It is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward. Permanent status negotiations must begin, and begin soon.” (MSNBC)
That was footage from president Obama’s speech on Tuesday in New York, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to move the two states towards a peace agreement.
While many sides don't expect much accomplishment from the meeting, the media are looking at how the Obama administration was handling the situation in the Middle East.
We bring you perspectives on the meeting from CNN, CBS, the BBC, Al Jazeera English and the Jerusalem Post.
CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux analyzes what the White House hopes Obama can accomplish by bringing the two leaders together.
“What they want to show is that the president is engaged, that he does care about the process, that this is still a priority. He is demonstrating that he is the one guy who can bring these two leaders together, even if they don’t discuss very much in that room of significance, of substance. That he is a powerful enough player that people respond to him."
Al Jazeera English agrees that the meeting is a chance for Obama to make personal gains, though it does not necessarily see this as a valid reason.
“And so a meeting that is not expected to renew talks between Israel and the Palestinians. A meeting, in short, that has one main purpose: A photo opportunity for an American president who has invested so much of his own prestige in trying to re-launch the middle east peace process."
CBS and the BBC look at how Obama’s departure from past administrations' approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict seems to be changing Israeli sentiments toward the U.S.
“Many Israelis don’t see Obama as an effective advocate. Israeli Public opinion is some of the most skeptical about Obama anywhere in the world.”
“Israelis are surprised, hurt and a little angry that an American president appears to be putting the feelings of the other side above theirs…It looks as if President Obama wants to try to be more like an honest broker, not the family lawyer.”
The Jerusalem Post questions whether Obama is really cut out for the job of bringing peace to the Middle East.
“In a world that is wondering increasingly whether Washington is willing and able to enforce its key values and effectively promote its vital interests, … (Netanyahu and Abbas) will both be asking themselves a question neither would have anticipated eight months ago: Can America be relied upon and taken seriously?”
What do you think? How has Barack Obama done in handling the conflict in the Middle East?
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