Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat listens as US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the media in Ramallah yesterday.
AFP/Ramallah
US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted yesterday he was making progress in tough talks with Israel and the Palestinians, but admitted more time was needed to agree a framework to guide the negotiations.
The top US diplomat emerged from his second round of talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to say everyone was “working with great intensity” and commitment to try to overcome decades of animosity.
“We’re not there yet, but we are making progress,” Kerry said, adding he was to fly today to Jordan and Saudi Arabia for talks with both countries’ kings on the path forward.
“I’m confident that the talks we’ve had in the past two days have already fleshed out and even resolved certain kinds of issues and presented new opportunities for others,” he said.
“We are beginning to flesh out the toughest hurdles yet to be overcome.”
His 10th trip to the region has been clouded by bitter recriminations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, accusing each other of trying to scupper the talks.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat sought to counter snipes from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Palestinians were not serious about peace.
“No-one stands to lose more from failure than the Palestinians,” Erakat told reporters, shivering on a chilly night in the courtyard of Abbas’s West Bank headquarters in Ramallah.
“Failure to us is not an option. We really are doing everything humanely possible to ensure the success of Secretary Kerry.”
And he urged Israel to “refrain from any acts that may prejudice us or pre-empt the outcome of permanent status negotiations, i.e. settlement activity and home demolitions.”
After his talks with Abbas, Kerry returned straight to Jerusalem and met Netanyahu one-on-one before the two men were to be joined by their teams.
US officials have refused to release any details about the framework which would guide the next phase of the talks. Kerry acknowledged yesterday it would not be agreed during this trip.
