"Very productive" ... meeting

The Cable, here

" ... State Department released this joint statement:

The Prime Minister and Senator Mitchell had a very productive meeting today where the full range of issues was discussed.

They agreed on the importance of restarting meaningful negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and working toward a comprehensive peace, and that all sides need to take concrete steps toward peace. The Prime Minister and the Senator made good progress today, and an Israeli delegation will meet Senator Mitchell next week in the United States to continue the conversation.

Heading into the talks, several Washington Middle East hands expressed the belief that the parties are getting close to an agreement on resuming Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel and Syria, and on resuming normal relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors in the fall.

But it wasn't immediately clear if Mitchell and Netanyahu were able to bridge differences in the meeting in particular on the settlements freeze issue to advance the process....

"What did they produce?" a former senior Israeli official said, after reading the joint statement. "If there was 'progress,'" he added, "they'll save it to [announce] when he meets Obama," at the UN General Assembly opening session in New York next month....

Washington's policy to Iran is not being altered to get Israeli buy-in to the peace process, U.S. officials said, noting that the offer to engage Iran both stands and is genuine. That said, one said, if the prevailing recent sense in Washington that Iran is unlikely to meaningfully engage in the timetable that the Obama administration has long telegraphed is reassuring to the Israelis and helps move the Middle East process forward, that is a useful side benefit."