While we have all been appropriately focused on the developments in Iran over the past two weeks, several other cogs in the interconnected Middle East have been turning and a few are worth reflecting on briefly this morning.

First, in Israel we saw the government authorize the building of 300 new settlement homes in defiance of US calls for a halt to such activity. This raised concern among various commentators who rightly fear that if settlement activity continues it will end any chance for a two state solution. After this news broke, Middle East watchers wondered whether the Obama administration would react. They did not have long to wait.

US State Department Spokesperson Ian Kelly stated that a scheduled meeting between Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and US Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, originally slated to take place in Paris today, was postponed with no new date set. Kelly went on to note that:

“This was done because we want to give Special Envoy Mitchell a chance to meet with Defense Minister Barak, and that visit will take place on Monday where we hope to advance discussions on a range of issues.”

And to ensure that the linkage was made clear to all parties Kelly said the following:

“I’ll reiterate our – what we always say or what I always say and what others say: We oppose continued settlement activity. All parties have the responsibility to help create the context that will support renewed, meaningful negotiations that can be concluded quickly. The bottom line is that we expect all parties to honor their commitments. Our position is that settlement activity has to stop consistent with the Roadmap.”

Then, in a move likely to be carefully weighed in Iran but also in Israel, the Obama administration announced that the US was sending an Ambassador to Syria for the first time in four years.

It is clear that things are incredibly fluid in the Middle East at the moment — the White House needs to continue to be creative in advancing US interests in the region.

No related posts.