U.S. makes a big error in bid for peace

History tempts us to compare Secretary of State Kerry’s Wednesday speech on Israel and the Palestinians with the one former President Bill Clinton gave in the final weeks of his presidency in 2001 — what Clinton thought would be the principles of a final deal for peace shared between two states.

Both Clinton and Kerry gave their speeches amid a sense that their principles would not be realized under the Presidents preparing to enter the White House. Both suggested similar parameters, centered on Israel’s 1967 borders and mutually agreed upon land swaps.

Still, the differences are notable — and each of those differences is likely to alienate some of the parties who would need to agree to any negotiated solution over the status of Israel, the Palestinians and contested territories.

Kerry is more explicit than Clinton was regarding establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. Israel won’t like that.

Kerry is also more explicit on terms under which Palestinian refugees would go to Israel — terms too loose for Israel and too restrictive for Palestinians.

Palestinians won’t like Kerry’s mention of Israel being defined as a Jewish state.

Kerry devoted much of his speech to the heated issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank territories, and here his frustration was evident. He also showed notable nuance — accepting that Israeli settlements are not the main impediment to peace, and dwelling at length on the peril of Palestinian incitements such as naming streets after their terrorists.

Such statements stand out because the Obama administration until now has been all or nothing on the question of settlements: Israel simply had to stop building them, including in East Jerusalem.

Obama and Kerry’s premise was: Hit that home run ball and solve the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Big mistake. All along, the U.S. should have calibrated its approach to settlements to fit the two-state goal:

Urge Israel not to build beyond its security barrier, where a vast majority of Palestinians live in 92% of the West Bank. Let Palestinians show they are partners by not glorifying violence.

Kerry ought to have reflected on why the U.S. slugged for home runs when it should have swung for singles.