The Quartet released a statement that can apparently be read in Humpty Dumpty-ese:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone. “It means just what I choose it to mean – neither more or less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”
Who is to be master? Well, for the majority of the press, it is to be Hamas.
Hamas said Thursday it was encouraged by what it called a “wait and see” approach by the Quartet of Middle East mediators towards a new Palestinian unity government.
But the unity government deal between the ruling Hamas movement and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction widened divisions within the Quartet.
The United States wants to continue to shun the government if it does not meet the three conditions, whereas Russia and other European governments favor a softer line.
“They (the Quartet) have decided to wait and see until the new government is formed and they have not rushed to reiterate the continuation of the siege and sanctions,” Hamas cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad said. “They have left the door open for the possibility of opening a dialogue.”
That, of course, is Reuters’ take. The JPost:
The Quartet issued a statement following its talks in Berlin Wednesday night reiterating the need for the Palestinian Authority to accepts its three principles, but also adding that there was a discussion about “possible further steps by the international community in the context of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”
Ynet, via the AP:
The revived Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators – the US, UN, EU and Russia – underscored its demand that any Palestinian government recognize Israel, and vowed to hold another meeting in an Arab country.
The meeting Wednesday of Quartet representatives in Berlin offered no breakthroughs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a statement. But officials pointed to their commitment to keep the effort going. “We know that this process of drawing closer together is difficult, and for that reason we want to support it,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, stressing the need to seize a “window of opportunity.”
Gee. When have they held a meeting in Israel, I wonder?
As an aside, you can hardly find the news of this meeting in Google News. Funny, the AP isn’t giving it as much of a push as they give, say, news of the IDF killing a terrorist, or worse, accidentally killing palestinian civilians. One might suspect the reason they’re not pushing the news is because it’s not filling the anti-Israel agenda. But of course, then one would be assuming bias in the news media.
For the record, this is the statement the Quartet released. Read in it what you will:
The Quartet reaffirmed its statements regarding its support for a Palestinian Government committed to non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map, and encouraged progress in this direction.
The Quartet discussed efforts under way for a Palestinian national unity Government, pursuant to the agreement reached in Mecca on 8 February. The Quartet expressed its appreciation for the role of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the cessation of violence among Palestinians.
The Quartet concluded with a discussion of possible further steps by the international community in the context of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
It welcomed preliminary ideas put forward by the European Commission to meet the needs to better coordinate and mobilize international assistance in support of the political process and to meet the needs of the Palestinian people.
The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to meet regularly and asked envoys to monitor developments and actions taken by the parties and to discuss the way ahead. It was agreed to schedule a meeting in the region soon.
Yes, it’s a Rorschach statement. (No, it really isn’t. But the media pretends that it is.)
We have no new ideas.
Now that you guys are back to killing each other in onesies and twosies instead of having running gun battles, we can resume pretending these talks mean something. And with King Abdullah providing for such excellent accommodations, it is imperative that these talks continue. Kobe beef doesn’t just eat itself.
We really want to give you more money. Please don’t kill our people while they’re bringing it to you. It’s very difficult to explain to their parents.
We need to find a couple NGO Rangers to head into Gaza and the West Bank. We’re certainly not setting foot there. Or in Israel, that stamp on our passports would cause unending delays the next time we have to stop by Riyadh and
pick up our checksconsult with King Abdullah. We’ll be in Dubai. When are they opening that cool underwater hotel?