16/07/2013 11:57
Kerry to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace with Arabs
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss his effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks with Arab officials in Jordan on Wednesday, according to the State Department, which declined to comment on whether a resumption may be at hand.
According to Reuters, Kerry will leave Washington on Monday night to fly to Amman to see officials from Jordan and the Arab League, which put forward a peace proposal in 2002 that offered full Arab recognition of Israel if it gave up land seized in a 1967 war and accepted a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.
There is deep skepticism among diplomats and Middle East analysts that the Israelis and Palestinians are likely to resume peace talks. Some regard the issue as a sideshow to Syria's civil war, the Egyptian army's overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi and Iran's suspected efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Still, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki sounded an optimistic note about the chances for peace even though she, and another senior U.S. official, declined to say whether or not Kerry's upcoming trip might be decisive.
"The secretary would not be going back to the region if he did not feel there was an opportunity (for) taking steps forward in providing an update to representatives of the Arab League ... but beyond that I don't have any announcements or predictions to make," Psaki said in a news briefing.