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Mofaz to Obama: Israel's Broad Coalition Will Enable Renewal of Mideast Talks
(Ha'aretz) - Natasha Mozgovaya - Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday and emphasized that Israel's new coalition government is an opportunity to restart negotiations with the Palestinians. Mofaz told Obama that the new 94-member coalition that was set up in Israel, after his party Kadima joined the government, posed a window of opportunity to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "The Americans have a strong will to advance the process," Mofaz said following the meeting. "This time there are no preconditions from my talks with U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and the National Security Adviser, I feel that there is support for talks without preconditions." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has stepped up contacts with Israeli and Palestinian officials over the past week to persuade them to return to the table, beginning with a high-level meeting between Mofaz and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Clinton met on Wednesday with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Mofaz.