This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/world/middleeast/israeli-settlement-plan-derailed-peace-talks-kerry-says.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Mideast Frustration, the Sequel | Mideast Frustration, the Sequel |
| (5 months later) | |
| WASHINGTON — For those who suspect that the Middle East peace process has become a diplomatic drama, playing on an endless loop, Secretary of State John Kerry’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday could serve as Exhibit A. | |
| Explaining to the senators why his latest efforts to bring together the Israelis and the Palestinians had almost broken down last week, Mr. Kerry could have been channeling Secretary of State James A. Baker III when he explained a similar impasse to House members 24 years ago. | Explaining to the senators why his latest efforts to bring together the Israelis and the Palestinians had almost broken down last week, Mr. Kerry could have been channeling Secretary of State James A. Baker III when he explained a similar impasse to House members 24 years ago. |
| While Mr. Kerry said both sides bore responsibility for “unhelpful” actions, the precipitating event, he said, was Israel’s announcement of 700 new housing units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. That came three days after a deadline passed for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, and it undercut an emerging deal to extend the negotiations. | While Mr. Kerry said both sides bore responsibility for “unhelpful” actions, the precipitating event, he said, was Israel’s announcement of 700 new housing units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. That came three days after a deadline passed for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, and it undercut an emerging deal to extend the negotiations. |
| “Poof, that was sort of the moment,” Mr. Kerry said. “We find ourselves where we are.” | “Poof, that was sort of the moment,” Mr. Kerry said. “We find ourselves where we are.” |
| “I hope the parties will find a way back,” he added. “But, you know, we have an enormous amount on our plate.” Mr. Kerry warned that there were limits to the time that he and President Obama would devote to the peace process, “given the rest of the agenda, if they’re not prepared to commit to actually be there in a serious way.” | “I hope the parties will find a way back,” he added. “But, you know, we have an enormous amount on our plate.” Mr. Kerry warned that there were limits to the time that he and President Obama would devote to the peace process, “given the rest of the agenda, if they’re not prepared to commit to actually be there in a serious way.” |
| Rewind to June 13, 1990: Mr. Baker, fed up after his own diplomatic efforts, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that if Israel’s right-wing government did not ease its conditions for talks with the Palestinians, there would be no progress. He was also incensed that Israel’s defense minister had visited two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, in what he later called a symbolic rebuff to the United States. | Rewind to June 13, 1990: Mr. Baker, fed up after his own diplomatic efforts, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that if Israel’s right-wing government did not ease its conditions for talks with the Palestinians, there would be no progress. He was also incensed that Israel’s defense minister had visited two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, in what he later called a symbolic rebuff to the United States. |
| “Unless all sides tempered their inflexibility,” Mr. Baker wrote in his 1995 memoir, “The Politics of Diplomacy,” “I said, ‘There won’t be any dialogue, and there won’t be any peace, and the United States of America can’t make it happen.’ ” Lest anyone in the Israeli government not get the message, Mr. Baker added: “Everybody over there should know that the telephone number is 1-202-456-1414. When you’re serious about peace, call us.” That number, then as now, is for the White House switchboard. | “Unless all sides tempered their inflexibility,” Mr. Baker wrote in his 1995 memoir, “The Politics of Diplomacy,” “I said, ‘There won’t be any dialogue, and there won’t be any peace, and the United States of America can’t make it happen.’ ” Lest anyone in the Israeli government not get the message, Mr. Baker added: “Everybody over there should know that the telephone number is 1-202-456-1414. When you’re serious about peace, call us.” That number, then as now, is for the White House switchboard. |
| There are important differences between the two secretaries of state, starting with the fact that Mr. Baker was genuinely ready to walk away. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait two months after the House hearing gave him a perfect reason to put the peace talks on the back burner. | There are important differences between the two secretaries of state, starting with the fact that Mr. Baker was genuinely ready to walk away. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait two months after the House hearing gave him a perfect reason to put the peace talks on the back burner. |
| Mr. Kerry, on the other hand, appears determined to keep the process alive. Even now, he noted, the Israelis and the Palestinians are talking, with the United States acting as a broker. If the two sides can get past the dispute over the Israeli prisoner release, he said, they can return to substantive negotiations for a peace accord. | Mr. Kerry, on the other hand, appears determined to keep the process alive. Even now, he noted, the Israelis and the Palestinians are talking, with the United States acting as a broker. If the two sides can get past the dispute over the Israeli prisoner release, he said, they can return to substantive negotiations for a peace accord. |
| “Why is this moment different?” he asked as the senators listened with evident skepticism. “Because at the back end, the consequences are more stark and clear than they’ve been before, and there’s less space for mistakes. So we hope they’ll make it.” | “Why is this moment different?” he asked as the senators listened with evident skepticism. “Because at the back end, the consequences are more stark and clear than they’ve been before, and there’s less space for mistakes. So we hope they’ll make it.” |
| Still, Mr. Kerry’s focus on settlement construction has surprised some in Israel, where the government’s publication of tenders for the building of housing units in Gilo, a Jewish area of East Jerusalem, has seemed a much less provocative issue for the Palestinians than Israel’s refusal to release its last batch of Palestinian prisoners. | Still, Mr. Kerry’s focus on settlement construction has surprised some in Israel, where the government’s publication of tenders for the building of housing units in Gilo, a Jewish area of East Jerusalem, has seemed a much less provocative issue for the Palestinians than Israel’s refusal to release its last batch of Palestinian prisoners. |
| Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator who worked for Mr. Baker, said Mr. Kerry’s emphasis on housing could complicate his efforts to get the process back on track, since it is likely to antagonize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. | Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator who worked for Mr. Baker, said Mr. Kerry’s emphasis on housing could complicate his efforts to get the process back on track, since it is likely to antagonize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. |
| “He’ll get no points with it from the Palestinians, rattle Netanyahu’s cage, and make the Israeli political situation more complex by focusing on Israeli building not in the West Bank but in Jerusalem,” said Mr. Miller, who is now at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. | “He’ll get no points with it from the Palestinians, rattle Netanyahu’s cage, and make the Israeli political situation more complex by focusing on Israeli building not in the West Bank but in Jerusalem,” said Mr. Miller, who is now at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. |
| But the housing issue has aroused some controversy in Israel. Tzipi Livni, the justice minister and the government’s chief negotiator with the Palestinians, said she believed that Uri Ariel, the housing minister, had acted deliberately to sabotage the peace effort. | But the housing issue has aroused some controversy in Israel. Tzipi Livni, the justice minister and the government’s chief negotiator with the Palestinians, said she believed that Uri Ariel, the housing minister, had acted deliberately to sabotage the peace effort. |
| The State Department insisted that Mr. Kerry did not place the blame for the crisis with either the Israelis or the Palestinians. He also criticized the Palestinian Authority for applying to join 15 international treaties and conventions, a move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood outside the peace process, which the United States staunchly opposes. | The State Department insisted that Mr. Kerry did not place the blame for the crisis with either the Israelis or the Palestinians. He also criticized the Palestinian Authority for applying to join 15 international treaties and conventions, a move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood outside the peace process, which the United States staunchly opposes. |
| “Secretary Kerry has been consistently crystal clear that both sides have taken unhelpful steps, and at no point has he engaged in a blame game,” said the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki. “The fact is, it is up to the parties and their leaders to determine whether they are going to make the tough choices needed, and that has always been the case.” | “Secretary Kerry has been consistently crystal clear that both sides have taken unhelpful steps, and at no point has he engaged in a blame game,” said the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki. “The fact is, it is up to the parties and their leaders to determine whether they are going to make the tough choices needed, and that has always been the case.” |
| The most telling part of Tuesday’s hearing, however, may have been how few questions Mr. Kerry got on the peace process. The senators were more intent on questioning him about Russia’s efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine, and about whether the administration was doing enough to respond to President Vladimir V. Putin’s aggression. | The most telling part of Tuesday’s hearing, however, may have been how few questions Mr. Kerry got on the peace process. The senators were more intent on questioning him about Russia’s efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine, and about whether the administration was doing enough to respond to President Vladimir V. Putin’s aggression. |
| Another focus was Syria, where Mr. Kerry said that 54 percent of President Bashar al-Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons had been removed from the country under an agreement with Russia, with two more big shipments scheduled to leave in coming days. | Another focus was Syria, where Mr. Kerry said that 54 percent of President Bashar al-Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons had been removed from the country under an agreement with Russia, with two more big shipments scheduled to leave in coming days. |
| Mr. Kerry parried these questions calmly. He bristled only when Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, brought the discussion back to the Middle East and predicted that “you’re about to hit the trifecta” — failure to reach a political settlement in Syria, failure to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, and the collapse of talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. | Mr. Kerry parried these questions calmly. He bristled only when Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, brought the discussion back to the Middle East and predicted that “you’re about to hit the trifecta” — failure to reach a political settlement in Syria, failure to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, and the collapse of talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. |
| “It’s a tough issue,” Mr. Kerry said, glaring at his former Senate colleague. “But your friend Teddy Roosevelt also said the credit belongs to the people in the arena who are trying to get things done.” | “It’s a tough issue,” Mr. Kerry said, glaring at his former Senate colleague. “But your friend Teddy Roosevelt also said the credit belongs to the people in the arena who are trying to get things done.” |