Visiting US Mideast envoy George Mitchell on Friday stressed the White House’s commitment to achieving a comprehensive regional peace agreement between Israel and her neighbors. He stressed US President Barak Obama remains committed to the two-state solution, the establishment of Palestine with portions of Jerusalem serving as its capital.

Mitchell on Friday met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a meeting that the Prime Minister’s Office called “productive”. Mitchell met on shabbos with senior advisors to the prime minister, Mike Herzog and Yitzchak Molcho.

From Jerusalem [on Friday] Mitchell traveled to Ramallah, where he met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and other officials. As expected, Abu Mazen blamed Israel for the stalled diplomatic process, accusing Israel for failing to comply with the Roadmap Plan and for ignoring the demands of the international community to halt any and all settlement construction.

Mitchell on Saturday night traveled to Cairo for high-level meetings, following which, he will meet in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu again. Mitchell is calling on Israel and the PA to send representatives to Washington towards jumpstarting stalled talks, seeking to exhibit an air of optimism surrounding his shuttle diplomacy efforts.

(Written on isru chag in Eretz Yisrael – Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)