Abu Bluff: Israeli 'gestures' not enough
Kerry is bidding to broker a series of at least three meetings between Netanyahu and Abbas at the start of new direct peace talks, and is seeking guarantees from the Israelis and the Palestinians that a new peace effort will not quickly fall apart, as happened with the last resumption of negotiations in 2010, an Israeli TV report said Friday night.
However, Saturday’s Xinhua report showed Kerry had yet to make a significant breakthrough.
“What Israel offers in terms of releasing a limited number of prisoners and increasing the Palestinian Authority’ s influence in the West Bank is not enough for President Abbas to accept returning to the negotiating table,” the news agency quoted a Palestinian official as saying.
The official reportedly said Israel would have to freeze settlement building and accept a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders for talks between the two sides to continue, adding that Abbas had told Kerry as much during their meeting in Amman.
Kerry added a stop in Abu Dhabi to his two-week swing through the Mideast and Asia, then canceled it because of his ongoing meetings on the Mideast peace process.
There is deep skepticism that Kerry can get the two sides to agree on a two-state solution, something that has eluded presidents and diplomats for years. But the flurry of meetings has heightened expectations that the two sides can be convinced to at least restart talks, which broke down in 2008.
Will this be the time that Kerry (and Obama) finally admit that the 'Palestinians' don't really want peace? Don't hold your breath.So far, there have been no public signs that the two sides are narrowing their differences.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Shimon Peres, two-state solution
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:53 PM
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