US President Obama vows to seek durable Mideast peace in Abbas call

Obama called the Palestinian leader a day after taking the oath of office and assured him that he intended "to work with him as partners to establish a durable peace in the region," Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.Â

 

Obama told Abbas that the president was the first foreign leader he called since taking office, Rudeina said.

 

"This is my first phone call to a foreign leader and Im making it only hours after I took office," Rudeina quoted Obama as telling Abbas.

 

Obama and his secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton vowed to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict immediately after taking office.

 

During his inauguration speech on Tuesday, Obama pledged a new approach to the Muslim world.

 

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect," he said.

 

During his inauguration speech Tuesday, Obama pledged a new approach to the Muslim world saying "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

 

Israel completed its pull out during the morning, the fourth day of a ceasefire that ended a 22-day blitz on Hamas, leaving 1,300 Palestinians dead and a trail of devastation.

 

MITCHELL TO BE MIDEAST ENVOY

Obama will name former Northern Ireland peacemaker George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy to deal immediately with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sources familiar with the matter told news agencies on Tuesday.

 

The choice, if confirmed, appears set to appease Arab and other critics who contend Washington is biased in favor of Israel.

 

Best known for peacemaking efforts in Northern Ireland, the former Senate majority leader, 75, also has experience in the Middle East. Mitchell was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to find ways to halt Israeli-Palestinian violence.

 

If he gets the job, Mitchell's first challenge would be dealing with the crisis in Gaza, where Israeli troops are withdrawing after a 22-day offensive. A fragile truce between Israel and the Hamas Islamist movement took hold at the weekend.

 

Mitchell's 2001 report on the Israelis and Palestinians called for the Israelis to freeze construction of new settlements and stop shooting at unarmed demonstrators, and Palestinians to prevent attacks and punish those who perpetrated them.

 

Mitchell will be appointed on Wednesday following the Senate's expected confirmation of Hillary Clinton as Obama’s secretary of state, The Washington Post newspaper said quoting Obama aides.

 

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said appointing Mitchell would show Obama's determination to reclaim U.S. leadership on Middle East peace issues.

 

"This is a president who appears to be serious on the Middle East from day one. This is an appointment that sends the message, 'I'm ready to solve this,'" Zogby told Reuters.

Mitchell brokered talks between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland in an effort that led to the 1998 Good Friday Accord aimed at stemming the long-standing conflict there.

 

He is the son of a Lebanese immigrant mother, and of an Irish father who when orphaned was adopted by a Lebanese family.

 

SUSPENSION OF GUANTANAMO CASES

Obama Wednesday started the job of hauling his crisis-weary nation out of its "winter of hardship" by settling into the Oval Office, a day after his historic inauguration as the first black U.S. president.

 

After a late night waltzing with wife Michelle at glitzy inaugural balls, the president was set to take aim at his top military and economic challenges, in the hope of getting his administration off to a fast start.

 

His first move came in the form of an order to prosecutors at the controversial military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to seek a suspension of the trial proceedings.

 

Military judges were expected to rule later Wednesday on the request, which would affect the military trials of five alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as well as a Canadian held on accusations of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

 

Obama was due to spend the first part of his day seeking divine blessing for his presidency at a traditional prayer service at Washington’s National Cathedral.

 

Then he was expected to call in his top economic lieutenants to start the task of repairing the ruptured US economy and shepherd a huge 825-billion-dollar stimulus package through the U.S. Congress.

 

Obama was also expected to meet his top military leaders to fulfill a campaign promise -- telling the generals to formulate a plan to get U.S. troops out of Iraq, and reorienting military efforts towards the war in Afghanistan.