Mideast parties bicker amid peace push
JERUSALEM — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s closed-door diplomacy to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians has burst into a public spat, with both sides trading blistering criticisms, Republican senators showing up in Jerusalem to argue Israel’s side, and Palestinian demonstrators protesting his visit.
Kerry is on his 10th visit to the region to try to craft a peace treaty that would create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
He met for three hours on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Later in the day, Kerry travelled to Ramallah, West Bank, to speak with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Although battered by sniping from all sides, Kerry remained upbeat — at least publicly.
Asked if he was making progress, Kerry replied that progress is being made every day.
Earlier, about 150 Palestinians demonstrators marched through the streets of Ramallah to protest Kerry’s visit. They carried Palestinian flags and signs that said: “The northern, central and southern Jordan Valley are a genuine part of Palestinian sovereignty.” The West Bank’s Jordan Valley is a strategic area along the border with Jordan that Israeli hardliners, including members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, say must be annexed by Israel for its own security.
So far, the two sides have engaged in about 20 rounds of negotiations, which have entered a more intense phase. Kerry is asking both leaders to start making tough, highly political decisions in hopes of narrowing differences and agree on a framework that will outline a final peace pact.
The goal is for the framework, or series of guidelines, to address all core issues, including borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, Palestinian refugees and conflicting claims to the holy city of Jerusalem. No agreement on a framework is likely during Kerry’s visit.
Political activist Abdallah Maslamani said a proposed framework that would guide negotiations on a deal protect the security interests of “the terror state of occupation,” a reference to Israel.
One night earlier, the digs were coming from the other side. Netanyahu lashed out at Abbas, accusing him of embracing terrorists “as heroes.”’
Netanyahu criticized Abbas’ homecoming for more than two dozen Palestinians released earlier this week from Israeli jails where they had served time for deadly attacks against Israelis. The Palestinian leader never condoned their crimes, but Netanyahu took offence.
Even in Jerusalem, Kerry couldn’t escape domestic politics interfer- ing with international diplomacy. Three Republican senators held a news conference after meeting with the Israeli leader, reiterated his concerns, thereby emboldening Netanyahu’s position right before Kerry’s delicate talks with Abbas.
Kerry has managed to dodge one setback, at least temporarily. Ahead of his arrival, Israel said it would announce plans to build 1,400 new Jewish settlement homes.
But Israel backed off making the announcement, which would have angered the Palestinians, the United States and European nations, at least while Kerry was in town.