Kerry announces agreement for resuming Mideast peace talks

[grantcart]

Source: CNN

CNN) -- The long-dormant Middle East peace efforts got new life on Friday.

An agreement has been reached that "establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between" Palestinians and Israel, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Amman, Jordan.

"This is a significant and welcome step forward," Kerry said.

This came as Kerry visited the Middle East this week and came up with a formula for reanimating peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian territories, a source close to the talks said.

He has been working intensely with the Palestinian side to get them on board.

Earlier Friday, in a meeting in Amman, Jordan, Kerry presented the plan to Palestinian chief peace negotiator Saeb Erakat in hopes that it will entice the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

Kerry arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank on Friday afternoon and began a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas for the third time during his current trip to the Middle East.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/19/world/meast/mideast-kerry-visit/index.html

[karynnj]

1. this really is great news

Even though it is just a first step, it is incredible that it has come about. I hope that both sides will be able to use the chance to make a better future. However, even getting this far is a big deal.

Earlier, I saw this Jerusalem post article from a reform rabbi - titled "John Kerry, hero" - the description is part of why I always have been impressed By Kerry - as Senator or Secretary of State. http://blogs.jpost.com/content/john-kerry-hero

[SoCalMusicLover]

5. Same Ol' Same Ol'

It is a rite of passage for Every SOS to bring the sides back to the table for talks.

Soon enough they will fall apart again, as sure as the sun will come out tomorrow.

[grantcart]

8. Really? When was the last time that both sides had direct talks in Washington DC?

Talks could begin soon in Washington, according to the official Palestinian Authority news agency, Wafa, which quoted the authority's spokesman, Nabil abu Rudaineh.

[SoCalMusicLover]

9. We Shall See

I see how difficult it is for the Dems & repubs to agree on anything, and they don't even hate each other near as much as they do in the middle east.

Both sides seem so entrenched with their beliefs, the Palestinians would have to give up their insisting that part of Jerusalem be in the new land of Palestine, and I don't see that happening, nor do I see Israel ever giving up Jerusalem as entirely within Israel's borders.

And they can't even agree on much more minor issues, so that one alone could keep an agreement from ever taking place within my lifetime.

If Obama is able to get substantial progress on these talks, it would make his Health Care Bill look like the lesser of the two major accomplishments during his term. Not to mention the fact that it seems like EVERY president with a 2nd term in office, has made fultile attempts at bringing the sides together, and it has yet to result in a single step towards a deal.

We shall see, but my guess is one side will do something the other takes as a slap in the face, and the talks will collapse again. Hope to be proven wrong.

[grantcart]

13. No that's not the point

You said that it is

It is a rite of passage for Every SOS to bring the sides back to the table for talks.

And the Palestinian Authority (and an unnamed Israeli source) are talking about something we haven't seen in 30 years.

The likelihood is still remote but it isn't the "same ol', samle ol'"

You are entitled to your cynicism, it just isn't very well informed.

There were the same cynical voices that said that the US would never elect an African American fathered by a Muslim, raised by a single parent/grandparents and whose middle name is Hussein, but they did.

[iandhr]

2. Parody of peace talks

From an Israeli comedy show Eretz Nehederet

[karynnj]

3. I assume you think things will get better with no peace talks

It seems rather cynical to post this at the point where talks that no one thought possible look like they will happen.

[bemildred]

10. Yep, all hat, no pony.

Even if they should manage to craft an agreement, the excluded parties will reject it, and there are too many excluded parties in this.

[SoCalMusicLover]

4. A Peace Deal Is On The Horizon

NOT!

I am 47, and if I can assure you, there will not be any deal between Israel & the Palestinians within my lifetime, or even the lifetime of the child I have not had yet.

Talks seem to take place and then break down on a weekly basis over there. I give these talks a couple of weeks max before they fall apart again.

It's all window dressing, and to be honest, a giant waste of time. But I guess they have to put on the appearance of trying.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a peace agreement, but it ain't gonna happen. There are no leaders like Sadat & Begin anymore, and probably won't be again. Both sides are too heavily invested in their own agendas, and they probably couldn't even come to an agreement on what pizza toppings to order, let alone something complicated like a peace agreement.

[karynnj]

6. Before Camp David you would have bemoaned that there were no

leaders like Ben Gurion or Nasser. You would have spoken of Begin's roots as the head of the very right wing Irgun and how Sadat was a pale imitation of Nasser. This is harder as it is not really two countries, because the Palestinians have never really had the chance to have all the rights and privileges a sovereign country has -- getting that is what this is all about.

The difficulty is that both have acted like they think if they wait, they will get it all. The hope is that both become convinced that both could have more of what they want as two independent countries. If this doesn't work now p the future cannot include a one state which is both democratic and Jewish and likely will not result in a post racist true democracy of the diverse people.

[grantcart]

7. I am 58 and have been involved in negotiating sensitive agreements with governments.

I would have put a non violent transformation of Burma as a less likely than an agreement with Palestine and Israel.

And yet

On 1 April 2012, her party, the National League for Democracy, announced that she was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Burmese parliament, representing the constituency of Kawhmu;[16] her party also won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the lower house.[17] The election results were confirmed by the official electoral commission the following day.[18]

On 6 June 2013, Suu Kyi announced on the World Economic Forum’s website that she wants to run for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections

This is not to say that an agreement is near, its not, but it is to say they aren't going to get any closer without direct talks. You are 100% wrong about one thing: its all window dressing. Neither side will return to the talks unless there has been some kind of understanding on settlements.

There are three reasons that an agreement might happen: It is in both the Israeli and Palestinian interest to do so. A land swap would give each side territorial integrity and a more defensible territory.

Two Hamas has done one thing: exposed the corruption of the Palestinian Authority old guard. This old guard made millions by not having an agreement. Now they face losing popular support to Hamas. There is more incentive for the kind of reform that eliminates the incentive not to agree.

Finally for all the President's admired speaking skills, he really is a gifted listener. He has a unique ability find more common ground than people thought possible.

No one is seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, except for your sarcastic response, but if they do come to Washington, which would surprise me, it would mean that some major points had been agreed upon because neither leader will make a move with that high profile without getting some concession before they get on a plane.

[oberliner]

11. Wishing them the best of luck

Hoping for the best!

[DCBob]

12. This is some unexpected good news on this seemingly endless issue.

I wonder what happened?

[karynnj]

14. From following the many articles, it might be that Kerry was able to make both

sides consider that the alternative to peace talks is worse than risking having them and having them fail. For some time, both sides were attempting to paint the other as the side not seriously working with Kerry. I suspect that the EU decision to join the boycott of Israel made Kerry's statement of the risks to Israel (in his speech to American Jews) more real to Israel. The EU action was a big deal.

There is still much that go wrong - even to getting talks started.

It also depends on whether most of Israelis and most Paestinians really want a real two state solution. That would seem the answer only if each side sees the likely "one state" as worse than what the negotiated 2 states give them. It would seem to me that the possible one states are:

- a post racist/ post religious democracy where everyone has identical rights and there is no state religion. ( While in theory, this would seem the ultimate liberal democratic solution - I can't imagine Israel going there and realize that even if such a government started out that way, it could evolve into something worse.)

- a worse version of the current situation where within the greenline, there is a western style democracy and in the occupied territories a hell where people have no rights and is the very definition of a powder keg. I think such a state would gradually lose the support of American Jews - starting with the best of the young people.

[DCBob]

15. That make sense but..

I also wonder if the Israelis were hoping for a more pro-Israel President and SOS which they would have gotten with Romney and were waiting to do anything significant until they were sure who they going to have to deal with.

I hope this is the real deal this time and not just another teaser "breakthough".

[karynnj]

16. Maybe, but it also would be unlikely that there would

be ANY negotiations with a President Romney and SOS Bolton. Netanyahu might like Romney better, but I assume that neither he or Bolton would have any credibility with either the Arab League or Abbas.