Although neither offered details, a senior American official described the sessions as “intense”.…
Of course this sort of language typically reflects no progress at all.
In the matter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, when Secretary of State John Kerry’s highly touted nine-month goal of securing a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians (based on the administration’s belief that both sides were interested in compromise) foundered late last year because the Palestinians refused to give an inch, Mr. Kerry began talking about an agreed-upon “framework” for future negotiations rather than a final agreement.
The Times sought to vindicate the administration’s original vision and focused on something critics of Israel were claiming was a new demand raised by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Thus, in its January 1 issue, in a story headlined “Sticking Point in Peace Talks: Recognition of a Jewish State,” Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren wrote, “As Middle East peace talks churn on, Israel has catapulted to the fore an issue that may be even more intractable than old lines like security and settlements: a demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.”
But as the veteran U.S. Mideast negotiator Dennis Ross recently wrote, the issue of recognition of Israel as a Jewish issue loomed large as far back as the Camp David negotiations presided over by President Clinton. But for those invested in the Obama presidency, Mr. Kerry’s plan cannot be seen as falling of its own weight. There has to be something new that had not been anticipated.
There will doubtless be much more of this to come from the Times as the Obama administration continues on its downward spiral – and especially if polls show a significant erosion of support for the Democrats as the midterms draw near.
