Kerry sees progress on peace talks
AMMAN, Jordan – After a rush of last-minute talks with Palestinian officials, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sealed a step toward relaunching the long-halted Middle East peace process, announcing Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed on a basis for returning to negotiations.
The statement, which came in a press conference after a day in which Kerry shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank, reflected how painstakingly incremental movement in the process is. While it appeared deep differences over the groundwork of talks had been bridged, the two sides are to meet – likely in the coming week – to work out final details on actually resuming their negotiations on the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Up to the last minute, the Palestinians had been reluctant to sign on to Kerry’s formula for returning to the table with the Israelis, five years after talks broke down.
Late Thursday, the Palestinian leadership said it was sticking by its demand that any negotiations on final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel rejects preconditions on the talks.
Kerry held extended talks Friday morning with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman, then spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry then flew by helicopter to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, although his departure was delayed by nearly three hours.
Returning to Amman, Kerry told reporters, “We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He added, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Still, he said “the agreement is still in the process of being formalized” and the Israeli and Palestinian chief negotiators – Tzipi Livni and Erekat – would hold initial talks in Washington “within the next week or so.”
Kerry would not give details on the agreement on the negotiations’ basis. “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private,” he said. “We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead. Today, however, I am hopeful.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Kerry’s efforts and the decision by the parties to return to the negotiating table, pledged U.N. support, and called on both sides “to show leadership, courage and responsibility to sustain this effort towards achieving the two-state vision,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Kerry has made winning a resumption of Middle East peace talks a priority, and this was his sixth visit to the region as secretary of state.
Netanyahu’s office said it would not immediately comment on Kerry’s announcement.
Hoping to push Israelis and Palestinians toward talks, President Barack Obama asked Netanyahu to work with Kerry “to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible,” according to a statement released by the White House late Thursday.
Final status negotiations aim to reach a deal on the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and security arrangements. Talks ground to a halt five years ago, and previous efforts to revive them have stalled.