Former US ambassador Martin Indyk to serve as point man in negotiations between Israel and PA

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, will serve as the United States' “point man” in upcoming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), reported Channel 2 Sunday.

Israel and the PA have informed the U.S. That they accept Indyk's appointment to the position.

Indyk is Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He served as U.S. ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration.

Indyk criticized President Barack Obama's Middle East policy in 2009. He said that Obama and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell have failed in the Middle East.

“It’s clear that things are not going as he planned,” Indyk said at an Omaha, Nebraska forum. He explained that President Obama counted on the support of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who rebuffed the overtures for even a minor compromise regarding the 2002 Saudi initiative.

Indyk also failed the president and Mitchell for focusing on trying to freeze building for Jews in Judea and Samaria. The former ambassador said that they violated a basic rule in negotiations in the Middle East: don’t get bogged down in details.

“George Mitchell didn’t hear that sucking sound,” Indyk added.