William Burns

The critical first step in the Middle East peace process is to relaunch negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis without preconditions, says U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns.
”That emphatically does not mean starting from scratch; it means building on previous agreements, resolving the core issues of the conflict, and settling it once and for all,” Burns said in a speech at the Washington-based Middle East Institute November 10.
”Our goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security – a Jewish state of Israel, with which America retains unbreakable bonds, and with true security for all Israelis, and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, that ends the daily humiliations of Palestinians under occupation and that realizes the full and remarkable potential of the Palestinian people,” Burns said.
To arrive at that point, Burns said, the United States will work to create the best circumstances for talks that include the Israelis and the Palestinians, key regional partners like Egypt, and the Middle East Quartet, which is composed of the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States.
While acknowledging that the quest for Arab-Israeli peace has been elusive, Burns said that it is also true that the parties themselves must make the difficult decisions for peace. “It is an historical fact that most of the biggest breakthroughs, from [former Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat in Jerusalem [in 1977] to the secret negotiations in Oslo [in 1992 and 1993], have come from the parties themselves,” he added.
Burns, who is under secretary for political affairs, said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements in the West Bank territories. Israel’s recent offer to restrain further settlement activity is an important step, but it falls short of continuing obligations for a full settlement freeze, he said. Palestinian negotiators have sought a freeze on all settlements before resuming negotiations.
The United States also seeks additional international support for the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to build the institutions needed for statehood, Burns said.
”Setbacks and complications are the common thread that runs through every effort at Middle East peace,” he said. “We need to learn from them, but not be deterred by them.”

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)