Special Envoy For Middle East Peace
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On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as the administration's Special Envoy to the Arab-Israeli peace process, formally known as the "Special Envoy for Middle East Peace". The appointment was seen as an indication of the new Obama administration's increased focus on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The choice of Mitchell allowed Obama to demonstrate the seriousness and sincerity of his intentions regarding the peace process, without forcing him to immediately embark on a specific initiative before conditions were yet ripe. An analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said Mitchell's appointment "says to the world, 'I care about this issue; be patient with me.'" Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, has stated that, "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He’s been meticulously even-handed."
Within the first week of his appointment, Mitchell was dispatched to visit Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia for peace discussions in light of the 2008-09 Gaza War between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in which both sides had recently entered into unilateral ceasefires. Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on January 27, and Obama said his visit was part of the President's campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and negotiate a peace deal. However, in a continuation of a George W. Bush administration policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas, a group Israel and the US consider a terrorist organization, but instead focus on talks with the Palestinian National Authority. Mitchell first met with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2009 and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since. In 2010 he led the U.S. delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference.
On May 13, 2011, George Mitchell tendered his resignation from the post of Special Envoy to the Middle East.
Read more about this topic: George J. Mitchell
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