Israeli-Palestinian peace effort not dead yet, claims Kerry
Palestinian leaders appear to have given up on US-brokered talks with Israel, spurring criticism from all sides as well as reflection on what lies ahead.
Palestinian leaders appear to have given up on US-brokered talks with Israel, spurring criticism from all sides as well as reflection on what lies ahead.
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The latest US-led peace effort appeared to hit a wall yesterday as Palestinian leaders applied to join several international conventions in an act of defiance. But Secretary of State John Kerry still considers the peace process alive 鈥� even if he has played all his cards.
Speaking from Algiers today, he said he planned to talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas this afternoon and聽urged the two to "lead,"聽the Associated Press reports.
Citing the Washington Post and the New York Times, Barak Ravid, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, writes that US officials say Mr. Kerry has "maximized his potential as peace mediator and sees no chance for progress if the sides refuse to make major decisions on their own."
But the way many Palestinians see it, Mr. Abbas's decision to leave the talks and seek international recognition was a moment of leadership. He has聽long been pushed to stand up to Israel, and criticized for bowing to Israeli and US pressure at the negotiating table, as 海角大神 notes.
Certainly Abbas will receive a chunk of the blame for the talks' failure for walking away from them 鈥� as Bloomberg columnist Jeffrey Goldberg notes 鈥� but Netanyahu will as well. Larry Derfner, a columnist for the left-leaning Israeli commentary website +972, says the criticism leveled at both the Israelis and the Palestinians聽is a victory for the Palestinians.
Haaretz columnist Chemi Shalev predicts that international public opinion聽will blame Israel for the collapse of the talks, even if it has the US on its side, and that Israel will turn inward, making any peace agreement a distant illusion.