Barack Obamas Mellanösternsändebud förre senatorn George Mitchell skickas nu till Mellanöstern för förhandlingar med Israel och de olika parterna.

Adam Entous och Arshad Mohammed skriver i Washington Post: Obama envoy expected in Middle East next week

Western, Arab and Israeli diplomats said his envoy, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, plans to meet leaders in Egypt, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jordan, but they ruled out direct contacts with Hamas Islamists who rule the Gaza Strip.

A Western diplomat said Mitchell was likely to go to Saudi Arabia but said Syria was not now on his schedule.

The trip is expected to last roughly a week and will likely include a stop in Saudi Arabia but not Syria, one diplomat said.

Israel’s refusal to fully lift its blockade of the coastal enclave following its devastating 22-day offensive, which killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, has thrown into doubt the future of the ceasefire and post-war reconstruction.

Eftersom Israel vägrar lyfta blockaden och Obama inte verkar våga utmana den Israeliska regeringen så har Israel redan vunnit första ronden och Mitchells resa blir mest symbolisk.

Däremot har Obama gett en omedelbar order till den amerikanska flottan om att stoppa alla leveranser från Iran till Gaza, något som kan visa att Obama kommer att gå på Israels linje försöka splittra palestinierna, krossa Hamas och sedan sluta en separatfred med Fatah på Västbanken.

Uzi Mahnaimi skriver i Times of London om president Obamas Mellanösternpolitik US navy seeks arms bound for Hamas – Times Online

An American naval taskforce in the Gulf of Aden has been ordered to hunt for suspicious Iranian arms ships heading for the Red Sea as Tehran seeks to re-equip Hamas, its Islamist ally in Gaza. According to US diplomatic sources, Combined Task Force 151, which is countering pirates in the Gulf of Aden, has been instructed to track Iranian arms shipments.

Last week the USS San Antonio, an amphibious transport dockship that serves as the command and control centre for the taskforce, boarded the former Russian cargo vessel Monchegorsk, which is registered in Limassol and flying a Cypriot flag. The ship docked at an Egyptian Red Sea port for a detailed search during which, according to unconfirmed reports, weapons were found.

Det verkar redan luta åt att det inte blir någon riktig återuppbyggnad av Gaza och att Obama inte vågar trotsa den oerhört starka Israel-lobbyn här i USA. vilket säkert är smart politiskt.

Vi får se nästa vecka men det ser knappast ljust ut för Gaza-borna.