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Kerry urges Israeli, Palestinian leaders not to let peace talks collapse Israel says it won’t release final group of Palestinian prisoners
(about 3 hours later)
ALGIERS — Acknowledging that Middle East peace talks he has shepherded for a year are teetering, Secretary of State John F. Kerry appealed directly to Israeli and Palestinian leaders Thursday, urging them not to miss a fleeting “moment” to make peace. JERUSALEM — Israel’s top negotiator said Thursday that Israel will not release a fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners, a move that brings the sputtering U.S.-backed peace talks ever closer to collapse.
Israelis and Palestinians began to jostle Wednesday over who should be blamed for the possible collapse of peace talks, even as their representatives met with U.S. officials late into the night to try to keep the negotiations alive. In an all-night meeting brokered by U.S. diplomat Martin Indyk, Israel’s chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, told her Palestinian counterparts that since the Palestinians had taken unilateral steps toward greater recognition by the United Nations, the Israeli government would cancel the final release of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners, according to Israeli officials close to the talks.
Kerry said the three teams met until 4 a.m. Thursday, but he gave no specifics of the discussion. “The dialogue remains open,” Kerry said, adding that he would speak to both Netanyahu and Abbas later Thursday. At the meeting, Israel also called upon the Palestinians to withdraw the letters they had signed to accede to 15 U.N. treaties and protocols and return to the negotiating table.
“It’s a critical moment, obviously,” Kerry said during a news conference with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra. “There was progress made in narrowing some of the questions that have arisen as a result of the events of the last few days, but there is still a gap,” he continued. “That gap will have to be closed, and closed fairly soon.” To bring the Palestinians back into the talks, U.S. diplomats had persuaded the Israelis to promise last summer to free 104 long-serving Palestinian inmates, many convicted of murdering Israeli civilians. So far, 78 have been freed, but the final group has not.
Kerry said that arguments about the structure and process of negotiations could derail them before they have a chance to succeed — the same thing that has happened in the past. As the deadline loomed Saturday for freeing the last group, Israel balked, demanding that the Palestinians agree to continue talks through the end of 2014.
“A fight over process, how to get into a negotiation, should not stop you from getting into that negotiation,” he said. The Palestinians said they wanted the Israelis to honor their commitment to freeing the 104, and that after the last group was released, they would discuss continuing talks. Ziad Abu Ein, a Palestinian official who oversees prisoner affairs, said, “The Israelis wanted us to buy the same car twice. We refused.”
U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu roughly an hour before Israel’s announcement concerning the prisoners. The State Department did not provide details of the conversation.
Kerry planned to speak to Abbas later Thursday, State Department officials said.
Earlier Thursday, Kerry had appealed directly to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, urging them not to miss a fleeting “moment” to make peace.Israelis and Palestinians began to jostle Wednesday over who should be blamed for the possible collapse of peace talks, even as their representatives met with U.S. officials late into the night to try to keep the negotiations alive.
The United States will keep trying, “no matter what,” to bring the two sides together and broker peace, Kerry said at the start of unrelated diplomatic meetings in the Algerian capital. “But in the end,” he added, “you can facilitate, you can push you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises.”The United States will keep trying, “no matter what,” to bring the two sides together and broker peace, Kerry said at the start of unrelated diplomatic meetings in the Algerian capital. “But in the end,” he added, “you can facilitate, you can push you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises.”
Two days after a major breach between the two sides, it remained unclear Thursday whether talks would survive even to the April 29 deadline Kerry had originally set for a deal. He had been seeking an extension of talks when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas defied American negotiators and announced Tuesday that he was resuming shelved efforts to seek greater Palestinian statehood recognition through the United Nations.Two days after a major breach between the two sides, it remained unclear Thursday whether talks would survive even to the April 29 deadline Kerry had originally set for a deal. He had been seeking an extension of talks when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas defied American negotiators and announced Tuesday that he was resuming shelved efforts to seek greater Palestinian statehood recognition through the United Nations.
Kerry immediately canceled plans to visit Abbas in the West Bank on Wednesday but spoke by phone with both him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry immediately canceled plans to visit Abbas in the West Bank on Wednesday but spoke by phone with both him and Netanyahu.
“The leaders have to lead,” Kerry said Thursday, “and they have to be able to see a moment when it’s there.”“The leaders have to lead,” Kerry said Thursday, “and they have to be able to see a moment when it’s there.”
U.S. officials have long said that a real deal to end more than 60 years of conflict will depend on the will and endurance of both sides, and that Washington can only help as a broker, ice-breaker or guarantor. Kerry has made the resumption of stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks his signature cause as President Obama’s second-term chief diplomat.U.S. officials have long said that a real deal to end more than 60 years of conflict will depend on the will and endurance of both sides, and that Washington can only help as a broker, ice-breaker or guarantor. Kerry has made the resumption of stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks his signature cause as President Obama’s second-term chief diplomat.
“There’s an old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink,” Kerry said, his voice tight. “Now it’s time to drink, and the leaders need to know that.”“There’s an old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink,” Kerry said, his voice tight. “Now it’s time to drink, and the leaders need to know that.”
The Palestinians took the formal steps Wednesday that Abbas had announced the day before, delivering signed documents that made the Palestinians a party to 15 U.N. treaties. The Palestinians had earlier promised to stay at the table and not seek recognition at the United Nations during the talks, but a decision by Israel over the weekend to delay or cancel the release of a final batch of 26 Palestinian prisoners triggered the Palestinian action. Palestinian leaders had assured the United States that they wished to continue the peace negotiations. The Palestinian negotiating team released a statement Wednesday that stressed commitment to continuing the talks until the original April 29 end date.
But Palestinian leaders also assured the United States that they wished to continue the peace negotiations. The Palestinian negotiating team released a statement Wednesday that stressed commitment to continuing the talks until the original April 29 end date. A State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, insisted Wednesday that the talks were not at a dead end. The United States does not assign blame for the current crisis, she said.
A State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, insisted Wednesday talks are not at a dead end. The United States does not assign blame for the current crisis, she said. “Look, to be clear, over the last 24 hours, there have been unhelpful actions taken on both sides here, and we didn’t think it was a productive time for the secretary to return to the region,” Harf said, referring to the Palestinians’ signing of the U.N. treaties and an announcement by Israel that it would build 708 housing units in disputed neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
“Look, to be clear, over the last 24 hours, there have been unhelpful actions taken on both sides here, and we didn’t think it was a productive time for the secretary to return to the region,” Harf said, referring to the Palestinians’ signing of U.N. treaties and an announcement by Israel that it would build 708 housing units in disputed neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
“But we’re not playing the blame game,” she said. “There is a chance to move this process forward. There is still a chance for this that will require tough decisions by both of the parties. They’ve made tough decisions up until this point, but we can’t make them for them. They need to make them now.”“But we’re not playing the blame game,” she said. “There is a chance to move this process forward. There is still a chance for this that will require tough decisions by both of the parties. They’ve made tough decisions up until this point, but we can’t make them for them. They need to make them now.”
Riyad H. Mansour, a Palestinian diplomat who serves as permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, told reporters Wednesday that the U.N. agreements are a first step in a phased plan to gain greater statehood power.Riyad H. Mansour, a Palestinian diplomat who serves as permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, told reporters Wednesday that the U.N. agreements are a first step in a phased plan to gain greater statehood power.
“The leadership will observe and see how things unfold, and it will decide accordingly,” whether and when to take further steps, Mansour said.“The leadership will observe and see how things unfold, and it will decide accordingly,” whether and when to take further steps, Mansour said.
The United States opposes the U.N. path to statehood recognition, saying that, ultimately, any viable sovereign Palestinian state must arise from talks with the Israelis. Israel’s military occupies much of the West Bank and maintains a naval and land blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel and the United States are also worried that membership in U.N. bodies with enforcement powers would allow Palestinians to bring human rights and legal claims against Israel.The United States opposes the U.N. path to statehood recognition, saying that, ultimately, any viable sovereign Palestinian state must arise from talks with the Israelis. Israel’s military occupies much of the West Bank and maintains a naval and land blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel and the United States are also worried that membership in U.N. bodies with enforcement powers would allow Palestinians to bring human rights and legal claims against Israel.
Neither side has informed chief U.S. envoy Martin Indyk that they want to quit the talks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the discussions. Neither side has informed Indyk, the chief U.S. envoy, that they want to quit the talks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the discussions.
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is leading Israel’s negotiating team, told the news Web site Walla! on Wednesday evening that the steps the Palestinians had taken in the past 24 hours were bad for the negotiations and bad for the Palestinians. Livni, the Israeli Justice Minister who is leading Israel’s negotiating team, had told the news Web site Walla! on Wednesday evening that the steps the Palestinians had taken in the past 24 hours were bad for the negotiations and bad for the Palestinians.
“If they want a country, they have to understand that it will only come via negotiations,” she said.“If they want a country, they have to understand that it will only come via negotiations,” she said.
Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog said that neither side should walk away. But some members of Netanyahu’s coalition government said the Palestinians should be punished.
“They will pay a heavy price,” Tourism Minister Uzi Landau said on Israel Radio. He urged the government to annex swaths of the West Bank that hold large Jewish settlements. “One of the possible measures will be Israel applying sovereignty over areas that will clearly be part of the state of Israel in any future solution,” Landau said.
Others in the government said Israel should withhold the transfer of Palestinian tax revenue to the West Bank.
An elaborate compromise that Kerry had hoped to work out this week appears beyond reach. He was brokering an extension of the talks through the end of the year, with the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
Kerry had sought Tuesday to play down the severity of the breach and said the immediate goal is to find ways to keep the two sides talking. A senior administration official in Washington said Kerry has gone as far as he can as mediator, absent major decisions by the parties themselves.
The Obama administration’s second-term bid to restart the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks and to swiftly broker a deal was always a long shot.
Abbas’s announcement Tuesday spelled out a plan to sign letters to allow the Palestinians to become a party to 15 multilateral treaties and conventions administered by the United Nations, a right that he said belonged to the Palestinians after they were granted “non-member observer state” status at the United Nations in 2012.
Abbas said signing the treaties has nothing to do with the peace process and only helps form the basis of a future, sovereign state of Palestine.
On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki delivered the signed documents to Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
The treaties support the rights of women, children, those with disabilities and civilians in wartime. Other protocols deal with genocide, consular relations and apartheid.
It was not clear whether Abbas’s move was part of negotiating brinkmanship or a fundamental shift away from talks with Israel. The Palestinian leader has been under heavy domestic pressure to abandon the negotiations, especially after Israel reneged on its promise to release the prisoners over the weekend.
“The people are asking Abbas, ‘What have you gotten from this peace process?’ The answer is — more settlement construction, more killing, more arrests, more demolitions by the Israelis,” said Ziad Abu Ein, the deputy minister of the bureau that supports Palestinian prisoners. “The Americans want more time. We ask, more time for what? What have they achieved in eight months? Zero.”
Booth reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Karen DeYoung in Washington and Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.Booth reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Karen DeYoung in Washington and Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.