U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to discuss Wednesday his vision for how the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians can be resolved.
The issue was a main focus for Kerry when he took the top post at the State Department in February 2013, but years of negotiations, including some intense periods of shuttle diplomacy, have failed to yield an agreement on the two-state solution he sees as the only way to achieve peace.
Kerry has just one month left before the end of President Barack Obama’s administration, so if an agreement is eventually reached, he will not be the one featured in pictures smiling and shaking hands with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that Kerry feels it is his duty to use his remaining time to put forth what he sees as the way forward.
“It’s always important to try to keep the process moving forward, to lay out constructive visions for the future, but also to underscore the fact that we haven’t given up on this and we don’t want the Palestinians or the Israelis to give up on this either,” Toner said.
FILE – Palestinian students march during sunset in a display of their military skills at Al-Rebat College for Law and Police Science in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.
Kerry’s early optimism thwarted by obstacles
Kerry said in a speech two weeks into his time as the top U.S. diplomat that he was an “optimist,” but also that everyone in the region knew the window for achieving peace was closing.
He soon managed to get the two sides to participate in peace talks for nine months, but that process broke down in April 2014 with no agreement. Months later, a 50-day war in Gaza that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians locked in the divide that persists today.
“We believe that with the two-state solution in peril, it is important to share the deeper understanding we have developed of both sides’ bottom lines during intensive consultations in recent years,” a senior State Department official said ahead of Kerry’s Wednesday address.
One lingering obstacle has been Israel’s continued construction of settlements in areas the Palestinians see as part of a future state.
That issue rocketed back to the forefront last week when the Obama administration abstained from a vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Dec. 25, 2016.
Israel criticizes U.S. abstention
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a cool relationship with President Barack Obama, called the resolution “shameful” and accused the U.S. of playing an active role in its passage.
On Tuesday, his spokesman went even further.
“We have ironclad information that emanates from sources in the Arab world and that shows the Obama administration helped craft this resolution and pushed hard for its eventual passage,” David Keyes said. “We’re not just going to be a punching bag and go quietly into the night.”
Toner rejected Israeli claims that the Obama administration had pushed for the resolution, breaking with a long-standing policy of diplomatically shielding Israel. Although the United States has long opposed the settlements, it has generally used its Security Council veto to protect its ally from censure.
“The idea this was pre-cooked in advance is not accurate,” Toner said. He repeatedly said that Egypt and the Palestinians drafted the resolution and the United States worked with them on the language only after the intention to go forward, no matter what, was clear.
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