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"Kerry Is
Just Not in Touch with Reality"
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Despite all that's going on the Middle East – the Iranian nuclear buildup,
the violence in Iraq, the shaking of Erdoğan's rule in Turkey, civil war in
Syria, Egypt and Yemen in melt-down mode, Libya unraveling, Tunisia in
political crisis – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has one main thing on
his mind, and that's a Palestinian-Israeli accord. Unbelievably, he is paying
a twelfth visit to the region on Jan. 13 to pursue this goal.
As he returns and returns again, senior
Israeli diplomatic officials are showing impatience with him. Here are
quotes from some, speaking off the record and very candidly to Israel
Hayom. First, about process:
- "We believe that
in return for Israel's request to extend negotiations by a year, Abu
Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] will ask more of
Israel, such as a [settlement construction] freeze or another prisoner
release, and these demands will be backed by Kerry and turned into an
American demand, accompanied by a threat. This, while the Arabs have
never given anything in return, from the Oslo negotiations until
today."
- "The negotiations
are currently being carried out without papers or documents passing
between the sides. This is because the Arabs are refusing to present
written documents. The Americans are coming with prepared proposals,
they read them and do not leave documents with either side. It is all
done verbally. The Netanyahu government is cooperating with Kerry's
initiative with the clear knowledge that the Arab side will not accept
the agreement and ultimately [Israel] will not be required to make
concessions or evacuate settlements."
- "Israel is forced
to cooperate with the American plan, mainly out of concern that if we
reject it, the U.S. will blame Israel for the failure of the
negotiations."
Then, more revealingly, about Kerry himself and his team:
- "The conduct of
the U.S. secretary of state is obsessive. There are those who say that
more than wanting to advance peace, he wants to take advantage of the
conflict for his political needs. According to this line of thought,
Kerry seems to think his path to the White House is via the signing of a
Middle East peace agreement."
- "Kerry, U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and U.S. Special Envoy Martin Indyk are
wandering around the country, meeting ministers, briefing journalists
and creating a feeling that a peace agreement is about to be
signed."
- Kerry's security plan
for the Jordan Valley is "ridiculous and unable to withstand the
test of reality."
- "Kerry visits
here a lot, but he does not display any understanding of what is
happening here. The U.S. plans are superficial and not serious. There is
no connection between what is said in public about the progress of the
negotiations and what is actually happening. It seems that Kerry is just
not in touch with reality. He is not an expert, to say the least, on the
roots of the conflict, he does not know how to create real solutions and
does not even demonstrate proficiency in reading maps that are presented
to him."
Comments: (1) Kerry has long had a reputation for trying to bend
reality to fit his own thinking. This diplomatic effort would seem to be his
most ambitious –and harmful – such indulgence to date. (2) The American
administration obsesses over the Palestinians because it, bizarrely, sees
this as the key
to the region's other problems. (January 9, 2014)
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John F.Kerry sharing
an thoughtful moment with Martin Indyk.
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Related
Topics: Arab-Israel
conflict & diplomacy, US policy This
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