U.S. officials: Kerry feels he has 'gone as far as he can' for Mideast peace

[Jefferson23]

Washington Post and New York Times quote administration officials saying both sides need to make own decision, editorial in each paper heap criticism on Obama's plan to free Pollard.

By Barak Ravid | Apr. 2, 2014 |

American efforts to extend the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have reached a breaking point: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry feels he has maximized his potential as peace mediator and sees no chance for progress if the sides refuse to make major decisions on their own, senior American officials told The Washington Post and The New York Times in articles published Wednesday.

A senior American official told The Post that Kerry has "gone as far as he can as mediator" and that the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, seen as a bargaining chip, would no longer be on table unless the Palestinians and Israelis made "significant moves forward."

A piece published in The New York Times sounded the same sentiments. An American official said that Kerry's decision to cancel his trips to Jerusalem and Ramallah represented a growing lack of patience within the White House, which "believes that his mediating efforts have reached their limit and that the two sides need to work their way out of the current impasse."

The editorials in both of the American papers heaped sharp criticism on the Obama administration's plans to free Pollard in exchange for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.583342