Abbas rejects plea by Kerry to halt international treaty applications

[Jefferson23]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected an appeal from US Secretary of State John Kerry to halt applications to join several international organizations, AFP reported on Friday.

The report quoted a Palestinian official who stated that Kerry had made the appeal to try and s salvage peace talks with Israel which.

According to the AFP report, Kerry sternly warned Abbas that Israel was threatening a strong response to the Palestinian move.

Abbas reportedly shrugged off the cautionary words saying, "Israel scares no one. They can do what they want."

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Abbas-rejects-plea-by-Kerry-to-halt-international-treaty-applications-347549


Kerry: It's time for a reality check on peace process
By REUTERS
04/04/2014 13:41

US secretary of state says Washington evaluating role in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks; says negotiations not open-ended, there is a limit to time US can spend on Mideast diplomatic process.

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-Its-reality-check-time-347546

[JDPriestly]

1. "Israel scares no one. They can do what they want."

Is that a dare?

[Jefferson23]

4. Positioning, is how I interpreted it. n/t

[Scootaloo]

9. What's Israel going to do, exactly?

"Complaining very loudly" seems about the upper limit of their ability to respond to this.

[bemildred]

2. Perhaps we can have a Peace-process-process now, to get a peace-process going again. nt

[Jefferson23]

3. You said it, I hope so too. n/t

[bemildred]

5. I just don't see what anybody does at this point.

Everybody is shaking their heads and walking away, outraged, by the perfidy of the others. It's a sight.

[Jefferson23]

6. A good example of the meaning of the word, collapse. n/t

[bemildred]

7. +1. That's the word I was looking for. nt

[Jefferson23]

8. ( NYT ) Kerry Says It’s ‘Reality Check Time’ in Stalled Mideast Talks

RABAT, Morocco — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the Obama administration planned to re-evaluate its approach to Middle East peacemaking and decide whether it was even worth continuing the effort in light of the inability of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to make progress.

“There are limits to the amount of time and effort that the United States can spend if the parties themselves are unwilling to take constructive steps in order to be able to move forward,” said Mr. Kerry, who added it was “reality check time.”

Forging a Palestinian and Israeli peace has been Mr. Kerry’s top diplomatic priority since he became secretary of state and one he has pursued in more than a dozen visits to the region.

The tumultuous events in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria forced themselves onto the agenda of an Obama administration, whose priorities have been at home. Iran’s nuclear program has been a major concern for several American administrations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/05/world/middleeast/kerry-says-middle-east-talks-are-at-an-impasse.html?_r=0