Video and Transcript: US State Department on Israeli-Palestinian Talks (14 September)

QUESTION: Envoy Mitchell told reporters today that we are making progress. How substantive is this progress? How is it different, let’s say, from two weeks ago? And what was discussed as first item on the agenda? Was it the settlement or the Jewishness of the state?

STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN P.J. CROWLEY: I had the opportunity to converse with the team this morning. I think we would characterize the discussions today as serious and direct discussions on the core issues. Those discussions will continue tomorrow.

As the Secretary said en route to Sharm el-Sheikh, it would be very important for the leaders of – on both sides. They have a special responsibility. These direct negotiations are the only mechanism through which Palestine achieves a viable state and Israel achieves the security that it deserves. They have a – now, they have a vested interest in seeing this process continue. They will have to find ways to overcome the immediate obstacles so that the direct negotiations can continue, and ultimately solutions found that resolves all of the outstanding issues as part of the process.

QUESTION: P.J., just to follow up. Mr. Netanyahu, a day or so ago, actually tied the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish homeland or as a Jewish state with the stopping of the settlement activity and so on. Considering that this is an issue that came in the aftermath of the 2001 election of Ariel Sharon, do you agree with the premise that this ought to be a tradeoff? And does the United States have a position on this that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state in order for the settlements to stop?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, the – ultimately, this is an agreement that the leaders of Israel and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority must achieve. It will be their agreement. We will play a role as the – as a key facilitator. As George Mitchell reiterated again today, we are prepared to offer our ideas as needed as the process goes forward. On the one hand, this is an issue of substance. We know the core issues, and solutions have to be found that resolve the core issues at the heart of the effort. By the same token, this is a political challenge. As George Mitchell said after the first round of talks here in Washington, both sides will have to move off of public-stated positions and reach compromises on firmly held and emotional issues. So to the extent that this poses a political challenge for both leaders, they have to continue to seek creative ways of resolving and satisfying the requirements of each one. Part of this process, as Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas build trust through the process, is it’ll be vitally important that each understands what the other leader needs. This is not a – this cannot be a situation where one side wins and the other side loses. You have to find solutions where both sides get what they need to reach an agreement, recognizing that neither side will get everything that it wants. ...

QUESTION: Could I ask a quick follow-up on this? P.J., is moving the direct talks from Sharm el-Sheikh to Jerusalem to Ramallah, would that make them sporadic and spotty rather than concentrated?

MR. CROWLEY: No. It is characteristic of the way this process is going to unfold. I think as George Mitchell mentioned today, beyond the meetings tomorrow, there will be follow-up meetings with teams from – on the Palestinian and Israeli side that will, in fact, then tee-up additional leader meetings in the next couple of weeks. As we’ve said, we expect to see the leaders get together roughly every two weeks. So we’re satisfied with the seriousness with which the leaders are taking this. As I say, this is their process, and ultimately, it has to yield results that satisfy the policy and political requirements of both the Israelis and Palestinians. So I think we’re satisfied that they are doing what we would hope that they would do, and we would hope that we find ways in which the process can continue and accelerate.