Mitchell to serve as special Middle East envoy
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 23, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON-U.S. President Barack Obama phoned Arab and Israeli leaders and reportedly asked highly respected veteran politician to serve as top Middle East envoy, showing he plans to act quickly to push for peace.
As Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press, Obama was preparing to name former Senate Democratic leader George J. Mitchell, 75, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's special envoy to the Middle East, a source close to Obama administration told Agence France-Presse yesterday.
The son of a Lebanese mother and Irish father, Mitchell returned to a role he pursued during President Bill Clinton's presidency when the former senator took on several difficult diplomatic assignments, including chairing peace talks on Northern Ireland. Mitchell led an international commission to investigate violence in the Middle East. His report, issued in 2001, after Clinton had left office, called for a freeze on Israeli settlements on the West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Obama telephoned late on Wednesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
In his phone calls, Gibbs said, Obama "emphasized his determination to work to help consolidate the cease-fire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime to prevent Hamas from rearming."The new president also sought to bolster the cease-fire by "facilitating in partnership with the Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza," Gibbs said.
The son of a Lebanese mother and Irish father, Mitchell returned to a role he pursued during President Bill Clinton's presidency when the former senator took on several difficult diplomatic assignments, including chairing peace talks on Northern Ireland. Mitchell led an international commission to investigate violence in the Middle East. His report, issued in 2001, after Clinton had left office, called for a freeze on Israeli settlements on the West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Obama telephoned late on Wednesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
In his phone calls, Gibbs said, Obama "emphasized his determination to work to help consolidate the cease-fire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime to prevent Hamas from rearming."The new president also sought to bolster the cease-fire by "facilitating in partnership with the Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza," Gibbs said.