With The Middle East In Chaos Will This Motivate The Israelis And Palestinians To Reach A Peace Agreement?

From left: Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat , Secretary of State John Kerry, and Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni at a news conference. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. Official: Syria, Egypt Turmoil Improves Chances Of Success In Peace Talks -- Haaretz/AP/Reuters

Fear of being engulfed by the chaos motivates Israelis and Palestinians to reach peace agreement, says senior U.S. state department official.

The turmoil in both Syria and Egypt is nudging Israelis and Palestinians toward peace, a United States official said on Friday, as Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Europe for talks on Middle East issues.

Kerry's three-day trip was originally intended to brief European and Arab diplomats on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but that objective is likely to be overshadowed by the ongoing crisis in Syria. The secretary of state is expected to lobby for support for President Barack Obama's proposed military strike against Syria while in Europe.

On Sunday, Kerry is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London.

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My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that I have always been skeptical of the Israeli - Palestinian peace process. Both sides want each others land .... and that has always been the heart of the conflict. And while the chaos in the Middle East may disturb them .... they are even more disturbed if they find themselves being viewed by their own citizens to be compromising and/or giving in to the other side.

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With The Middle East In Chaos Will This Motivate The Israelis And Palestinians To Reach A Peace Agreement?

From left: Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat , Secretary of State John Kerry, and Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni at a news conference. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. Official: Syria, Egypt Turmoil Improves Chances Of Success In Peace Talks -- Haaretz/AP/Reuters

Fear of being engulfed by the chaos motivates Israelis and Palestinians to reach peace agreement, says senior U.S. state department official.

The turmoil in both Syria and Egypt is nudging Israelis and Palestinians toward peace, a United States official said on Friday, as Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Europe for talks on Middle East issues.

Kerry's three-day trip was originally intended to brief European and Arab diplomats on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but that objective is likely to be overshadowed by the ongoing crisis in Syria. The secretary of state is expected to lobby for support for President Barack Obama's proposed military strike against Syria while in Europe.

On Sunday, Kerry is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London.

Read more ....

My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that I have always been skeptical of the Israeli - Palestinian peace process. Both sides want each others land .... and that has always been the heart of the conflict. And while the chaos in the Middle East may disturb them .... they are even more disturbed if they find themselves being viewed by their own citizens to be compromising and/or giving in to the other side.

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Who Did The Israelis Release In Order To Get The Peace Talks Going

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) holds hands with Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli prisons during celebrations in the West Bank city of Ramallah early August 14, 2013. (Mohamad Torokma/Reuters)

Palestinian Prisoner Freed By Israel Has American Blood On His Hands -- Daily Beast

At the behest of the State Department, Israel began releasing Palestinian prisoners this week in a deal to get peace talks going. One of them killed an American. Eli Lake reports.

For decades, the United States has urged foreign governments not to free prisoners who have killed Americans. But a man who murdered an American was freed this week by Israel in a prisoner-release deal encouraged by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Among those released Tuesday as an inducement to the Palestinian Authority to return to peace negotiations was Al-Haaj Othman Amar Mustafa, a Palestinian convicted in 1991 of killing Frederick Steven Rosenfeld, who the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time of his death reported was a former U.S. Marine and U.S. citizen.

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My Comment: Talk about leaving a bad taste in one's mouth. Another reason to not feel optimistic that these talks will succeed.

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Israeli - Palestinian Peace Talks To Continue

Long, Uncertain Path Ahead for Mideast Talks -- Voice of America

JERUSALEM — The obstacles to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement are large and longstanding, and analysts on the two sides are divided on whether this is the right time to overcome them.

It has been 46 years since Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War, putting more than a million Palestinians under occupation. Now, they number about four million.

After all the years of attacks, repression, settlement building, international criticism of both sides, and a peace process with more stagnation than progress, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry believes now is the time to end the conflict. He said as much announcing the talks last month.

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My Comment: People have been at war with each other over this piece of land for almost 5,000 years .... I do not share their optimism that peace possible .... but surprise, surprise .... others believe that peace is possible.

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Israeli - Palestinian Peace Talks Resuming Next Week

Peace Talks To Resume In Jerusalem Next Week, State Dept. Says -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will resume peace talks in Jerusalem next Wednesday, the State Department said Thursday.

Martin S. Indyk, the senior American envoy to the talks, and Frank Lowenstein, his deputy, will travel to Israel to facilitate the negotiations. After meeting in Jerusalem, the negotiators will hold another session in Jericho on the West Bank. No date was announced for that meeting.

The two sides began talking again last week in Washington after Secretary of State John Kerry made the resumption of negotiations his top priority. The goal is to reach a comprehensive peace agreement within nine months that would lead to an independent Palestinian state.

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More News On Israel - Palestinian Peace Talks Resuming Next Week

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume August 14: U.S. -- Reuters
Date set for more Israeli-Palestinian talks -- Al Jazeera
Palestine-Israel talks resume on August 14 -- Gulf News/AFP
US: Israeli, Palestinian Negotiators to Resume Peace Talks -- Voice of America
Second round of talks next week; Palestinians complain to US about Israeli settlements -- Washington Post/AP

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