Kerry Back In Israel For Peace Push

[Purveyor]

May 24, 2013 Reuters

JERUSALEM - US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday admitted there was scepticism and cynicism about his efforts to broker new talks between Israelis and Palestinians, as he made his fourth visit to Israel.

Flying in from a night of diplomacy in Amman over the war in Syria, Kerry went straight into talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he pursued his bid to kick-start negotiations frozen since late 2010.

Kerry has now visited Israel as many times in his first months in office as his predecessor Hillary Clinton did in four years as top US diplomat.

Despite public pronouncements of support from both sides, there is a growing frustration that so far there has been little to signal any shift in their long-standing positions.
Complicating efforts is the new Israeli government which has moved more towards the right and includes some members who openly oppose a two-state solution.

"There are ideological differences at the heart of the government," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is also Israel's top peace negotiator, told public radio.

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http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/24-May-2013/kerry-back-in-israel-for-peace-push

[Purveyor]

1. Analysis: Netanyahu Unlikely To Give Kerry Peace

Seeking to nudge Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, US Secretary of State John Kerry this week praised Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s “seriousness” about revitalising hopes for a peace deal and voiced optimism for ending years of stalemate.

Despite a show of determination by Mr Kerry on his fourth visit to Israel, neither the characterisation nor the optimism have much basis in reality. Put simply, Israel is not on board his peace effort and the nationalist proclivities of Mr Netanyahu and his coalition partners make this unlikely to change.

In recent days it has become clear that not only is Mr Netanyahu’s opposition to a viable Palestinian state continuing, but also that his key partner, Yair Lapid, the finance minister, is staking out a hard-line stance. In the most telling indicator yet of the new government’s intentions in the occupied West Bank, Israel decided last week to legalise four settlement outposts rather than dismantle them, a move that amounts to the creation of new settlements in areas Palestinians envision as the heartland of a future Palestine.

After the January elections, it had been hoped by liberal Israelis that Mr Lapid’s secularist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party would be a moderating influence. It turns out there is not much difference between Mr Lapid and the far-right pro-settler Jewish Home party that is also a coalition partner.

In his first interview addressing the Palestinian issue, Mr Lapid said on Sunday that he will not stop the “natural expansion” of West Bank settlements, ruled out a future Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and voiced scepticism over whether a deal could be struck with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whom he termed “one of the founding fathers of the victimising concept of the Palestinians”.

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http://www.scotsman.com/news/analysis-netanyahu-unlikely-to-give-kerry-peace-1-2942505