Obama's Middle East 'agenda' to be announced within weeks?

The Cable, here

"... Does the Obama administration plan to make an announcement on its Middle East peace plan later this month? So National Security Advisor James Jones recently told a European defense official in a "heads up," a European diplomat told The Cable.

"I think they want to announce something in August; but whether they will be able to is unclear unless they change their game plan," a former senior U.S. official involved in the Middle East told The Cable.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to come for a meeting at the White House August 17. One former U.S. government consultant recently back from discussions with leaders in Middle Eastern capitals thought the Obama administration was considering making an announcement articulating its Middle East peace plan after the consultations with Mubarak and before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around August 20. ....

On Sunday, Israel evicted two Palestinian families, comprising 56 people in all, from their homes in an East Jerusalem neighborhood, the New York Times reported. "Nasser Ghawi, one of the evicted Palestinians, said his family had been living in the house for 53 years .....

The State Department issued a statement after the evictions Sunday calling on Israeli authorities to refrain from provocative actions. .....The evictions were "all over" Al Jazeera today, a U.S. official said.

At a press appearance after a meeting with Clinton Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal reasserted Riyadh's position that "incrementalism and a step-by-step approach" will not achieve a resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. "The whole world knows what a settlement should look like," Al-Faisal said. "Withdrawal from all the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, a just settlement for the refugees, and an equitable settlement of issues such as water and security."

"I see this as less about actual red lines and more about sending signals," one Washington Middle East specialist said on condition of anonymity of Al-Faisal's statement. "The U.S. is asking Israel for a settlement freeze and Saudi Arabia et al for normalization steps. Israel is publicly saying no to a freeze ... and its allies in D.C. are building the case that the equation should be changed from 'settlement freeze = normalization steps' to 'steps already taken by Israel (recognizing two-state solution, removing some checkpoints, expressing readiness to return to negotiations) = normalization.' ... The post-meeting Saudi statement is just the latest public signaling by one of these parties."