NOVANEWS
nsnbc , – On Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that concrete progress had been made in the US facilitated, direct talks between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, but stressed that details have to be kept under wraps.
John Kerry. Screen capture from ABC TV
In an interview on the US-American TV channel ABC, John Kerry showed optimism while stressing that he perceives a need not to disclose any details about the results of the talks, saying:
“I am personally encouraged that very tough issues are beginning to take shape. … But we have agreed not to be talking about what we are doing, because it just creates great expectations. It creates pressure. It creates opposition, in some cases. … I think it is much better for us to do exactly what we have been doing, which is (to) negotiate quietly and privately”.
Before his latest visit to Palestine and Israel, Kerry underlined his optimism, saying that the sides were closer to “reaching a deal” than they have been for years.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, that the USA is focusing on reaching a “final deal” rather than an interim agreement.
On Sunday, John Kerry said, that this is a different moment in the conflict which could allow a different set of choices than the past, failed efforts allowed. nsnbc editor and Palestinian rights advocate Christof Lehmann commented on Kerry’s statement, saying:
“Kerry is absolutely right, this is a different moment indeed. It is the first time since 1948, that Syria has been so significantly weakened by a Western, Gulf-Arab and Israeli war, that it cannot stand as a guarantor against the pulling of an utterly illegal solution over the heads of the Palestinian people, while Hezbollah is caught up in a conflict that involves some 40.000 Saudi-paid Al-Qaeda mercenaries in the Qalamoun region. At the same time, Hamas is deeply split between the faction led by Khaled Mashal and men of his ilk, who support Qatar’s involvement in the war on Syria, and a faction of the core members of its armed wing who oppose the Mashal faction, but who is being targeted by Israel on behalf of Qatar. …
“Adding to the unprecedented strategic weakness of Palestine is that the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas, which receives its funding mainly from the USA and the EU, and via Israel, is cracking down on the PFLP, PFLP-GC, As-Saika, DFLP and other parties and organizations who could muster an actual resistance against the imposition of what increasingly looks like an “Oslo No.2″.
“Kerry’s optimism is understandable, and so is his wish to keep the public uninformed, because the result of the talks may very well be another disastrous contract which could spell then end to any hopes for a viable state of Palestine”.
Well informed Palestinian sources inform nsnbc that the USA strongly supports a solution that would allow Israel to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley and Israeli control over the Jordanian – Palestinian border. While the Palestinian Authority rejects the proposed Israeli presence in and control over the Jordan Valley and the Palestinian – Jordanian border, the P.A. may, reportedly be willing to accept an international force instead. Israel rejects that proposal. Christof Lehmann commented on the differences between an Israeli and an international presence in the Jordan Valley, saying:
“The discussion appears to be an attempt to prepare the public discourse so as to accept the control over sovereign Palestinian territory as a victory for Palestine and peace. If the Palestinian Authority accepts international control over the Jordan Valley and the border, it will have to live with the privilege of being remembered as those who sealed the death of Palestine by making it impossible to establish a continuous and viable Palestinian state. There are those who compare Mahmoud Abbas with a “Quiesling” and the number of those who recognize that to be the truth is growing”.
On Friday, John Kerry encouraged both the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the P.A. Government of Mahmoud Abbas to give more time to the talks than the originally scheduled nine months. Abbas reportedly replied, saying that the settlements which are built on Palestinian land must be evacuated, adding that the Palestinian Authority would be willing to extend the nine month period if Israel’s wish to extend the period was based on the serious wish to find a peaceful solution.
