Clinton :US to try persuade Palestinians return to negotiating table

The United States will seek to persuade leaders of the Palestinian Authority to return to the negotiating table with Israel after President Mahmoud Abbas made "the unhelpful" move of winning recognition of Palestine as an observer at the UN, according to the Jerusalem Post. "We have to convince the Palestinians that the negotiations with Israel represent not just the best but the only path to the independent state they deserve," the Post, in its edition on Saturday, quoted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying at the Saban Forum in Washington, DC. "Israel needs to help those committed to peace deliver to their people." Clinton's remarks came just a day after the Palestinians were granted non-member status at the UN General Assembly. Clinton presented four main US policy goals pertaining to Israel and the Middle East. First, she emphasized the need to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. "Iranian-made missiles and rockets launched from Gaza at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem drove hold what we already know," she said. The International community must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon." She added: "The Iranian regime already exports terrorism. Not only to Israel's doorstep, but across the world ... We do not have a policy of containment. We have a policy of prevention." Clinton left room for negotiations over Iran's illicit nuclear program, but said the "window for negotiation will not stay home forever." Clinton's second goal was to ensure the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza remains intact. "America and Israel have to work together... to turn the cease-fire into a lasting calm," she said, reiterating her support for Israel's right to self-defense, again according to the Jerusalem Post. Third, Clinton said Israel must work to promote Abbas, despite his unilateral moves at the UN. "Abbas took a step in the wrong direction this week," she said. "We opposed his resolution. But we need to see that the PA in the West Bank offers the" best chance for achieving a two-state solution. Her remarks contrasted with comments made at the same conference by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who took sharp aim at Abbas for his unilateral moves for statehood at the UN. "Hamas is more effective and has more political will and determination than Abbas," Liberman said, after accusing him of trying to divert attention from domestic policy failures. Clinton's fourth policy goal was that the US and Israel should support movements for democratic change in the Arab world.