US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday that any Middle East peace plan would be "fair and balanced," as he sought to push Israeli and Palestinian leaders towards final status negotiations.| No one believes him even though he epoxied his lips together as shown in the pic... |
"I can guarantee all parties that President (Barack) Obama and I are committed to putting forward ideas that are fair, that are balanced, and that improve the security of all the people of this region," Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem before departing for the Jordanian capital.
| And that the Israeli generals are too focused on the security of their nation... |
| If the Paleos will make "tough choices" like foregoing the right of return then maybe there's a basis for talk. Otherwise it's all blabber... |
"There's always tension as to when you put your card on the table, as to which piece you're willing to do, when and how. So it has to move with its particular pace."
Kerry has pledged to work even more intensively in the coming months, seeking first to agree a framework to guide the talks.
| So we have more of this to look forward to... |
Kerry insisted Saturday there had been "progress" in the talks, despite bitter recriminations by both sides and mostly irreconcilable demands for any future peace deal.
"We're not there yet, but we are making progress," he said, adding everyone was "working with great intensity" to try to reach a deal.
"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," said the US secretary of state.
"We are beginning to flesh out the toughest hurdles yet to be overcome."
| The toughest hurdles have been known for fifty-plus years, Jahwn... |
A cabinet member close to Netanyahu said Sunday Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank borders Jordan.
"Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, Palestinian police or technological means... does not understand the Middle East," said Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz.
| The international force would have a quick, new nickname: "targets"... |
The Palestinians support having an international security force brought in to patrol the Jordan Valley under a peace deal, but Israel insists on maintaining a long-term military presence on the territory it currently occupies.