Tag Archive for John Kerry

| May 26, 2013
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Who will Kerry blame for failed peace-talks Netanyahu or Abbas?

 

John Kerry might not be returning to the region soon, but he will continue to pressure Abbas & Netanyahu into saying yes to his plan, the outlines of which are explained here.

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Secretary of State John Kerry tried to explain at a press conference at Ben-Gurion International Airport why he had been investing most of his time over the past months in a desperate attempt to renew the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Kerry and Netanyahu

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meeting with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem May 23, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

 

He said that in every country he had visited – China, Japan, throughout Europe and in the Persian Gulf – and before coming here, during meetings with the foreign ministers of Brazil and New Zealand – the first question that came up was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| May 24, 2013
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White House appoints Gen. John Allen the U.S. security envoy for peace talks

Former NATO forces commander in Afghanistan has been appointed to formulate U.S. security policy in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

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Gen. John Allen has been appointed special U.S. envoy on security issues in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He will not mediate between the parties; his work will almost exclusively involve contacts with Israel. Allen will deal with the U.S. position on Israeli security needs and the security arrangements that would accompany the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

Gen. John Allen, in a July 2012 photo.

Gen. John Allen – Photo: Reuters

 

Senior U.S. and Israeli officials note that while U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the appointment it was coordinated with U.S. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| May 24, 2013
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Kerry Suggests Yet Another Freeze for Negotiations to Begin

U.S. Sec. of St. suggests Israel freeze construction if Israel seriously wants peace talks with the PA.

By Maayana Miskin

 

United States Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly proposed that Israel freeze construction east of the 1949 armistice line if it wants to hold talks with the Palestinian Authority.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State, John Kerry - Photo by Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO

PM Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State, John Kerry – Photo by Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO

 

Kerry met Thursday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

It was not clear if Netanyahu responded favorably to Kerry’s suggestion of a new construction freeze. Israel formerly froze construction for several months in an attempt to bring the PA back to the negotiating table. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 23, 2013
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PA maintains preconditions to end settlement construction, release prisoners.

Large protest rally outside PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s office in Ramallah to demonstrate Washington’s perceived ‘Israel bias.’

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Ramallah Thursday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and discussed with him ways of resuming the peace talks with Israel.

Palestinian protester holds a poster with a caricature of John Kerry in Ramallah May 23, 2013.

Palestinian protester holds a poster with a caricature of John Kerry in Ramallah May 23, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday reiterated his demand for a full cessation of settlement construction and the release of Palestinian prisoners before returning to the negotiating table with Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 23, 2013
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Israel’s Knesset argues over peace process, as Kerry returns to Jerusalem

John Kerry returns to Jerusalem pushing new American initiative, but there’s deep divides in Israel’s new gov’t over how to handle peace process with Palestinians. 

By Ryan Jones

 

 

Israel’s government this week heatedly debated how and if to restart peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, as US Secretary of State John Kerry returned to the region to continue pushing the two sides back to the table.

U.S. Secretary of State John KerryMeeting with Kerry in Jerusalem on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “wants to restart the peace talks with the Palestinians. …I hope the Palestinians want [this] as well…we ought to be successful for a simple reason: When there’s a will, we’ll find a way.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| May 21, 2013
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Palestinians withhold formal statehood bid giving talks with Israel last chance

Palestinian bureaucrats have completed all the legal paperwork necessary to gain entry into 63 U.N. agencies, treaties & conventions, but haven’t yet applied for membership, giving the latest U.S. peace effort a ‘chance to succeed’, says Saeb Erekat.

By Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Palestinians have done all the legal work necessary to join 63 U.N. agencies, conventions and treaties, but have not yet applied for membership, mainly to give the latest U.S. peace effort a chance to succeed, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday. And on Tuesday, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been tasked with coordinating peace talks with the Palestinians, said the Palestinian Authority was planning to apply as a state to 16 international organizations if peace talks with Israel did not resume by June.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 21, 2013
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Qatar: Arab Turmoil makes Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement more pressing

Gulf state’s emir tells Doha

 Mideast

Forum, “Our region will not see peace unless we see a resolution to the Palestinian issue.”

By Reuters

Qatar’s emir, who has thrown his state’s riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the emergence of ‘people power’ had put Arabs in direct confrontation with Israel and made a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more pressing.

קרי במסיבת עיתונאים עם ראש הממשלה א-תאני (צילום: AP)

Qatari PM Al Thani (L) and Kerry during press conference – Photo: AP

“We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but everybody should realize that such belief is now unfounded after the Arab Spring revolts,” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| May 6, 2013
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Livni rejects 1967 borders ‘precondition’ as catalyst for negotiations

 

Tzipi Livni stands fast & refused to accept the 1967 border as a ‘precondition’ to discuss borders, saying ‘That’s one of the points that must be resolved through talks.’

By JTA

 

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni reportedly refused to accept the 1967 border as the basis for a final Israeli-Palestinian border prior to negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State John KerryLivni told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday that Israel would not agree to the 1967 borders as a precondition of peace negotiations with the Palestinians, Maariv reported. Rather, she said, the border issue must be resolved through talks.

President Obama has called for the resumption of negotiations “on the basis” of the 1967 borders, a reference widely interpreted as allowing for an agreement in which Jewish settlement blocs become Israeli territory in exchange for other areas. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| April 30, 2013
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Arab League offers new Peace Plan motivated by “a strategic choice”

 

Arab League agrees to potentially dramatic changes in Saudi’s suggested plan.

Justice Minister Livni: “This is a positive development” ,but no comment yet from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

 

While the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem had yet to respond on Tuesday to a renewed Arab League endorsement for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau (Likud-Beytenu), a staunch opponent of the two-state solution, poured cold water on the League’s proposals.

Tourism Minister Uzi Landau – Photo: Lior Mizrahi

“They’re offering us Auschwitz borders with minor adjustments,” Landau said, invoking former Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s famous phrase warning against a return to indefensible pre-1967 borders.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| April 23, 2013
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Erdoğan to visit Gaza in May ignoring Kerry’s request

Turkish

media reports

 their PM refuses to postpone Gaza visit set for May despite US Secretary of State’s request.

Turkish officials meet with Israelis in Ankara to discuss compensation

Roi KaisBy

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to postpone his visit to Gaza in order to prevent disruptions to efforts to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

 

Kerry & Erdoğan – Photo by Reuters

Reports in Turkey said Erdogan refused the request. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is in Israel to discuss developments in Syria and Iran. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 18, 2013
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Kerry: Palestinians & Israel have 2 years to make peace

U.S. secretary of state did not spell out to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, why he believes so little time is left for a 2-state solution saying, “I think we have some period of time a year to year-and-a-half to two years, or it’s over.”

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Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday underlined the difficulty he will face in trying to chart a path toward Mideast peace, urging patience on the details of any two-state plan while stressing that Israel and the Palestinians might only have two years left for a deal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 17, 2013 – Photo: AFP

He told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he was committed to breaking a logjam that includes nearly no Israeli-Palestinian talks in the past 4 years and no solution in sight after more than six decades of conflict. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| April 11, 2013
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Israeli source: ‘There will be no more goodwill gestures towards Palestinians’

Israel refused to give in to demands of gestures of goodwill, as the Palestinians continue to

 seek

more & more preconditions in their bid to sabotage peace talks before they start.
Jerusalem: ‘We are ready to discuss everything – in direct talks’

By Attila Somfalvi

Talks yes, gestures of goodwill no. Senior officials in Jerusalem who were present during talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Wednesday that Israel does not intend to present any confidence building measures towards the Palestinians. The sources claim that the “preliminary demands presented by the Palestinians attest to the fact that they are peace refusniks. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| April 10, 2013
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Erdogan delays visit to Gaza at Obama’s request

Turkish media reports  that after his meeting with Kerry, Turkish PM announced he’ll visit Gaza after trip to Washington in mid-May. 

By Ynet

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he will probably visit Gaza after his trip to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on May 16, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

Kerry & Erdoğan - Photo by Reuters

Kerry & Erdoğan – Photo: Reuters

 

Asked about his Gaza trip by a journalist flying with him to Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan said: “It will probably take place after my visit to America.”

The statement comes days after the Turkish premier met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Istanbul. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 8, 2013
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Kerry meets Abbas then conveys to Israel precondition #6 to begin talks

When Kerry met PA president in Ramallah, Abbas adds relinquishment of W. Bank area under Israeli control (as per Oslo Accords) to list of preconditions.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH & HERB KEINON

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Israel from Turkey late Sunday afternoon, his second visit in two weeks, and went directly to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Ramallah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Ramallah – Photo: REUTERS

Abbas reiterated his stance regarding the resumption of peace talks with Israel, but added a new demand: that Israel hand control over parts of Area C in the West Bank to his authority.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| April 3, 2013
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Kerry to visit Turkey, Jordan & Israel in hopes of restarting dialogue

US Sec. of State will return to Mid-East in hopes of finding formula to restart negotiations.

Canadian FM Baird also scheduled to visit region.

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to Israel Saturday night as part of his efforts to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Netanyahu, March 20, 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Netanyahu, March 20, 2013.- Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing

Kerry, who held four hours of talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on March 23, following the visit of US President Barack Obama to Israel, will also be meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan during his visit.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
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