Palestine - Obama quicksteps into the quicksand

QUESTION: Will it still be possible to see a Palestinian state - and you know the contours of it - within the first Obama administration?

THE PRESIDENT: I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state - I'm not going to put a time frame on it - that is contiguous, that allows freedom of movement for its people, that allows for trade with other countries, that allows the creation of businesses and commerce so that people have a better life …

Amazingly not one mention of the Roadmap or the intention to press on with the two-state solution had been specifically made by Ms Clinton in the 63 pages of the transcript of the proceedings to confirm Ms Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State on January 13, 2009.

In his own confirmation hearings before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 1, 2008 Mr Beecroft had been most effusive in his praise of Jordan stating: “We [America] have no closer friend or ally in the Arab world than Jordan … Jordan is committed to the Roadmap and is tangibly supporting the process ...”

Jordan is clearly uncomfortable at any commentators suggesting that it return to the West Bank.

Xinhua News Agency on February 1, reported Jordan's King Abdullah telling George Mitchell: "We need to act quickly - without wasting time - on negotiations based on two states and not be diverted by new proposals."

While President Obama and Ambassador Beecroft have obliged Abdullah by endorsing America's commitment to the two-state solution, it is significant that neither mentioned the Roadmap as the route to follow to achieve that end result.

Only one other plan on the table seeks to attain that goal - the 2002 Arab League Peace Initiative: this just happens to be King Abdullah's preferred option.

However this initiative has been rejected by Israel for the same reasons that have seen the downfall of the Roadmap negotiations - the Arab League demands that Israel return to the 1967 armistice lines. It also demands that millions of Arabs (and their descendants) who fled to escape the 1948 War between Israel and six invading Arab armies, be allowed to return and live in Israel.

While current Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert has expressed an interest in negotiating with the Arab League on its proposal, the Arab League has indicated that it is not interested in any discussions, and the proposal is offered on a "take it or leave it" basis.

As Mr Olmert bows out of politics, predictions appear to favour the election of a new right wing Government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu that would - like the current Government - not be prepared to agree to either of these Arab demands.