Free Republic

Russia will soon call on the United Nations Security Council to adopt the road map as the accepted international plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moscow also proposes that the Quartet (Russia, the UN, the European Union, and the U.S.) be acknowledged as a mediator in the dispute. The United States is expected to back the proposal, which should be approved without difficulty. Russia brought up the proposal several months ago, at which time Washington deferred support for it. Now, in view of Russia's support for Security Council resolutions on Iraq, the U.S. government is not inclined to oppose Russia's...

The attack on a convoy carrying U.S. officials in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday that killed three Americans, is unlikely to have any major impact on U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been at a low ebb ever since the fall of the government of former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in early September. Since Abbas' resignation, the Americans have been paying mainly lip-service to the road map and have applied some pressure on Israel regarding the West Bank security fence. But President George Bush and those around him are mainly preoccupied with Iraq and with reelection. The...

Senior U.S. official: Israel promised to consult U.S. before deciding to expel Arafat from the Palestinian territories (Reuters)