August 7, 2009
Georgia's Unmet PromiseJuly 29, 2009
Chairman Berman's opening remarks at hearing, “New Challenges for International Peacekeeping Operations”July 28, 2009
Iraq Must Stop the Fighting in Ashraf and Ensure Residents' Security, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen SayJuly 22, 2009
Chairman Berman’s opening remarks at hearing, "Iran: Recent Developments and Implications for U.S. Policy"July 10, 2009
Berman Welcomes State Department Plan for Strategic Planning of Diplomacy and DevelopmentJune 25, 2009
Berman Hails the Nomination of the New U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO, a Foreign Affairs Committee Staff MemberJune 16, 2009
Berman Supports Free Expression in Iran, Notes the World Is Watching Events There CloselyTuesday, July 14, 2009
Washington, DC – Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued this statement regarding proposed unconditional peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian authorities:
“I am deeply disappointed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has consistently rejected Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for unconditional talks on the Palestinian issue.
“As everyone familiar with Israeli politics knows, Netanyahu has taken a politically courageous and substantively important step in endorsing the idea of ‘two states for two peoples,’ and he has also taken significant steps to ease travel and access in the West Bank by dismantling numerous checkpoints and roadblocks. Nevertheless, Abbas is demanding that Netanyahu establish a settlement freeze as a condition for a meeting. This is a condition Abbas never required of Netanyahu’s predecessor Ehud Olmert. Moreover, in the context of bilateral talks, Abbas could raise his settlement concerns directly with Netanyahu – concerns which, Abbas knows, are being discussed intensively between U.S. and Israeli officials.
“For the sake of re-establishing an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and helping to create an environment of peace, I call on President Abbas immediately to accept Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposal for unconditional talks on peace.”