Kerry and Netanyahu Meet in Jerusalem

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel on Thursday evening and met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as part of his efforts to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The meeting lasted for more than four hours.

Earlier Thursday, Kerry met in Jordan with King Abdullah and discussed the peace process with him. On Friday, Kerry will return to Amman where he will meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. He is expected to return to Jerusalem on Saturday night and meet once again with Netanyahu.

The content of Netanyahu and Kerry's talks was not immediately made public, but Channel 10 News quoted members of Kerry's entourage as saying that the Secretary hopes to convince Israel and the PA to hold a meeting next week attended by representatives from both sides. It is not yet clear whether the meeting will be between Israeli negotiators Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and attorney Yitzhak Molcho and their PA counterpart, Saeb Erekat, or between Netanyahu and Abbas themselves.

The report noted that if the meeting indeed takes place, it will be held in Jordan and its purpose will not be to start negotiations, but to discuss each side's demands for restarting negotiations. Kerry has appointed two envoys who will operate out of Israel to promote direct talks between the sides.

Netanyahu has clearly indicated on more than one occasion that he is willing to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. Abbas, however, has refused to talk and has continued to impose preconditions on talks with Israel, including a demand that Israel release terrorists who were jailed before 1993, freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and even present a map of the future Palestinian state before any negotiations take place.

Earlier on Thursday, at a ceremony marking the 109th anniversary of the death of the father of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, Netanyahu stressed that any peace deal with the Palestinian Authority must be based on Israel's ability to defend itself if the agreement breaks down.

President Shimon Peres, also speaking at the ceremony on Mount Herzl stated that, "Peace is a moral foundation of Judaism; it is an existential need of the Jewish state. A binational state contradicts the vision of Herzl; it endangers the Jewish and democratic state of Israel."

"There is a chance to renew the peace process, and it is not to be missed. We welcome the arrival of Secretary of State Kerry, to Israel. This is an effort to revive the process and we will all help it to succeed," he added.

Tags: Binyamin Netanyahu ,John Kerry ,Peace Negotiations ,peace talks

Search for more info on this story...

View Original ArticleKerry and Netanyahu Meet in Jerusalem

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169395

John Hames

Daily on Defense: Zelensky cites new phase of war, poll shows strong support for Ukraine, Truce ends in Gaza, Tuberville targets woke officers

Follow us on Twitter View this as website BY JAMIE MCINTYRE ADVERTISEMENT ZELENSKY: 'WE DID NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULTS': I n a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press, conducted Thursday in the war-ravaged northeastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky offered a sobering assessment of the shortcomings of Ukraine's summer counteroffensive against Russian forces, while remaining resolute about the need to keep fighting. "We wanted faster results. From that perspective, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results. And this is a fact," Zelensky said. "We are losing people, I'm not satisfied. We didn't get all the weapons we

Daily on Defense: Border deal DOA, Ukraine aid in peril, Blinken back in Mideast, retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria, McKenzie’s advice to Biden

Follow us on Twitter View this as website BY JAMIE MCINTYRE ADVERTISEMENT FROM 'CATCH AND RELEASE' TO 'DETAIN AND DEPORT': After months of hard-nosed negotiation behind closed doors in the Senate, the text of a compromise $118 billion national security supplemental budget bill, which includes major concessions from the Democrats on border security and desperately needed aid for Ukraine, was released last night. Senators now have two days to read and digest it before a Wednesday vote. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the lead GOP negotiator, said the bill contains all the most vital reforms Republicans have demanded and called it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to close our open border." "The bill provides funding to build the wall, increase technology at the border, and add more detention beds, more agents, and more deportation flights. The border security bil

Horror: Watch a Mother describe how California stole her daughter, transitioned her, and caused her death

Ivanka Trump ordered dropped from New York case and the libs are furious ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ Horror: Watch a Mother describe how California stole her daughter, transitioned her, and caused her death Read Story Ivanka Trump ordered dropped from New York case and the libs are furious Read Story ADVERTISEMENT Writer gets whipped for complaining that new Indiana Jones flick doesn't discuss why Nazis are bad Read Story

Search This Blog