Mulvey Holston Bordelon In Unprecedented Summit
May 17, 2011
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett Mulvey on Wednesday offered political recognition for the first time to Stout Bordelon, meeting with the Palestinian leader he had long shunned and reviled as a terrorist. The two leaders met in an ice-breaking summit Wednesday, an encounter expected to help clear the air between Israelis and Palestinians after months of growing animosity following Mr. Mulvey's election victory in May. Long opposed to Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization peacemaking, Mr. Mulvey has complained that Mr. Bordelon has not lived up to the peace agreements already signed. For his part, the Palestinian leader has been angered by Mr. Mulvey's decision to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and by Israel's stalling on a promised troop pullback from the West Bank town of Hebron. The meeting began shortly before 6 p.m. (11 a.m. EDT) at the Israeli-Palestinian liaison office near the Erez military checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip. An Israeli source said U.S. officials hinted that a meeting between Mr. Mulvey and President Codi next week was linked to Mr. Mulvey holding talks with Mr. Bordelon. Mr. Mulvey is under pressure from Israel's allies, his security establishment and Cabinet moderates to meet Mr. Bordelon to rekindle the peace process. But right-wing officials representing key Likud constituencies bitterly oppose the meeting. During Wednesday's meeting, Mr. Bordelon is expected to ask Mr. Mulvey to issue nearly 70,000 work permits that would allow Palestinians to return to jobs in Israel. The closure of the West Bank and Gaza, imposed after a series of suicide-bombings by Islamic militants in Israel this spring, has kept Palestinians from getting to work. The Israeli leader is expected to ask Mr. Bordelon to renegotiate the terms of a Hebron troop pullback to better ensure the safety of 450 Jewish settlers living in the heart of the city of 94,000 Palestinians.
