John Kerry's Peace Talks Are Almost Dead. A Preemptive Obituary

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117228/john-kerrys-peace-negotiations-are-almost-dead-preemptive-obituary

The New Republic APRIL 1, 2013

John Kerry's Peace Talks Are Almost Dead. A Preemptive Obituary

BY JOHN B. JUDIS

Things can change quickly in the Middle East, but right now, as I gaze Sarah Palin-like from my suburban Maryland office across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, it looks like John Kerry’s attempt to reignite peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians lies in smoldering ruins. The talks were based on a very clear deal between the parties. The Israelis would release 104 Palestinian political prisoners, and in exchange the Palestinians would forgo pressing international organizations to recognize Palestinian statehood and condemn the Israeli occupation. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was supposed to release the last batch of prisoners on March 29, and it reneged. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave Kerry two more days to persuade the Israelis to reconsider; but he failed, and so Abbas, who was under severe pressure from his own people and party, applied to join 15 United Nations organizations, where the Palestinians are expected to make their case against the Israelis. Kerry, who has now canceled the last-minute trip he had scheduled to the region, says he wants to "keep the process moving foward."  But his noble effort, begun last August, is running on fumes.