U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell and Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu
In the midst of the Israel-U.S. dispute over settlements and a potential Israeli strike on Iran, four senior American officials will arrive in Israel this week, although U.S. officials contend that the high concentration of American presence in the region is purely coincidental.
U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday in order to encourage the Israeli leader to resume peace negotiations and freeze, at least, the bulk of settlement construction. Mitchell met a month ago with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in lieu of meeting with Netanyahu, reportedly at the request of Israel.
Mitchell traveled today to Syria for meetings with Syrian President Basher al-Assad and declared the need for a resumption in peace negotiations with Israel. Last week, Turkey also expressed an interest to resume its role as a moderator in those discussions.
On Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Israel reportedly to dissuade Israel from military action against Iran in order to halt the Islamic country’s nuclear ambitions. Israel’s recent anti-ballistic missile tests and military mobilization, coupled with Iranian officials’ comments that they would strike Tel Aviv in retaliation to an attack on their territory, sparked concern that Israel would unilaterally attack Iran. National Security Advisor James Jones and White House Special Assistant Dennis Ross will also visit Israel this week.
Photo taken from the State Department website.