Mideast talks cover little new ground

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted an Israeli-Palestinian summit here Monday, but the session produced little beyond promises to uphold past agreements and meet again soon.

Rice characterized the three-way gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as “useful and productive,” though her summary of the two-hour, 20-minute session was largely a checklist of commitments previously made by the two sides.

Rice billed the meeting as an opportunity for the two leaders to informally explore ways to restart peace talks after more than six years of conflict. She said they did some of that, but also discussed agreements that have not been fully met, such as the 2005 pact on borders aimed at further opening the Gaza Strip to the outside world.

Olmert and Abbas reaffirmed their support of the U.S.-backed diplomatic blueprint known as the “road map” and discussed how to begin reviving it, Rice said. The plan, which lays out a step-by-step path to an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, has languished since it was unveiled in 2003 because neither side has fulfilled even initial commitments.

Rice said she planned to return to the region soon but did not say when. Olmert and Abbas plan to meet on their own before that.

“They reiterated their desire for American participation and leadership in facilitating efforts to overcome obstacles, rally regional and international support and move forward toward peace. In that vein, I expect to return to the region soon,” Rice said in terse remarks after the session.

Olmert and Abbas did not accompany Rice in issuing the statement, and did not meet with the media separately.

No one on either side expected much from the summit, given the weakened political condition of both Olmert and Abbas. Hopes sank further in recent days because of confusion over plans for a Palestinian unity government in which Abbas’ Fatah party is to join hands with the radical Hamas movement.

Abbas, a relative moderate, agreed to join a governing alliance with Hamas after months of factional violence that has left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel’s destruction, has ruled alone since winning parliamentary elections early last year.

Abbas has justified the deal, reached two weeks ago in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as a way to end the fighting between the rival Palestinian factions. He also hopes that creation of a unity government will end international limits on aid to the Palestinians imposed after Hamas came to power.

But Israel has threatened to snub the proposed government, as it has the Hamas administration, unless the government meets international demands to recognize the Jewish state, renounce violence and abide by past Israeli-Palestinian agreements. Israel also demands the release of a soldier captured last summer by Gaza-based militants.

Olmert said later Monday that Israel would work with Abbas, who was elected separately as Palestinian Authority president.

Rice has said the U.S. will not make a decision on whether to recognize the government until it is formed, but she indicated that it would have to meet the international conditions to gain U.S. acceptance.

The wording of the Mecca agreement appears to fall short of satisfying those demands, laid down last year by the so-called quartet of Middle East mediators: the U.S., European Union, Russia and United Nations. The Mecca pact promises only that the new government will “respect” international resolutions and past peace agreements; it does not clearly recognize Israel.

Rice did not provide details on the discussions. Olmert and Abbas also agreed to respect a cease-fire in place in the Gaza Strip since November, though it has been marred by occasional rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants.

It was the second time Olmert and Abbas have met during the last two months. The prior summit, in December, produced only modest concessions by Israel.

Olmert promised to reduce the number of roadblocks in the West Bank and to transfer $100 million in taxes and customs revenues, part of the funds collected by Israel and withheld from the Palestinians since Hamas took power. The money was transferred last month, but Palestinians and Israeli rights groups say few roadblocks were cleared.

This time, Rice kept the agenda clear of those sorts of nuts-and-bolts issues. She said the purpose instead was to explore a “diplomatic and political horizon,” meaning the possible outlines of a peace between the two sides and how to get there.

U.S. officials say that the prospects of a brighter future through peace talks could strengthen Palestinian moderates such as Abbas as a counterweight to Hamas. But in Monday’s meeting, the leaders did not appear to have broached the issues likely to be the most difficult to resolve in reaching a final peace accord, such as borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Monday’s meeting took place in a luxury Israeli hotel overlooking Jerusalem’s walled Old City. The three first met around a small table in a carpeted conference room, but after about an hour they relocated to Rice’s suite to continue the discussions in a more relaxed setting.

Speaking with a group of reporters late Monday, Rice said the meeting was “enormously valuable” because it gave Olmert and Abbas a chance to talk during a delicate moment created by the formation of the Palestinian unity government.

“I frankly don’t know how long it might have been before they would have talked with each other, were it not for the coincidence of this meeting having been scheduled,” she said.

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ellingwood@latimes.com