© 2024 KGOU
News and Music for Oklahoma
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Landis: Kerry’s ‘Poof Speech’ Reveals Lack Of Clear Israel-Palestine Strategy

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman before their bilateral meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2014.
U.S. Department of State
/
Flickr Creative Commons

Secretary of State John Kerry says talks in the Mideast peace process faltered after Israel last month refused to release prisoners as Palestinian leaders demanded, and then moved forward with new construction in a settlement.

“Both sides, whether advertently or inadvertently, wound up in positions where things happened that were unhelpful,” Kerry said in Senate testimony Tuesday. “Then in the afternoon when they were about to maybe get there, 700 settlement units were announced in Jerusalem, and poof, that was sort of the moment. We find ourselves where we are."

Moments earlier, he also acknowledged Palestinian moves toward winning statehood that also violated terms of the negotiations.

Israel responded by saying it was “deeply disappointed” with Kerry’s remarks. The New York Times speculates the dispute could be growing into an “open quarrel” between the United States and Israel.

In a sign that the sides were still far from reconciled, Israel on Wednesday directed its government ministers and senior ministry officials to refrain from meeting with their Palestinian counterparts, a move that officials said could delay bilateral projects. The ban on contacts does not apply to the negotiators, and Israeli officials signaled that coordination between the two sides on security issues would continue. But it was intended to send a message that there would be no business as usual.

Joshua Landis, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says American foreign policy is still based on a two-state solution with 1967 borders, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly says that’s not an option.

“America keeps on telling them, ‘Well, we can't want peace more than you want it.’,” Landis says. “It's too painful to try to come up with a different basis for peace talks. Obviously that's going to have to happen at some point.”

Kerry said both sides claim they want the talks to continue, but Landis says backpedaling and a lack of clarity about what the U.S. wants hurts the Obama administration as midterm elections approach.

“It looks bad for Kerry because it's not only Israel,” Landis says. “It's Syria and it's Ukraine, and people like McCain and others are taking him to the woodshed and saying, 'This is a trifecta of loss. You're losing on every one of these things.'”

--------------------------------------

KGOU relies on voluntary contributions from readers and listeners to further its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. To contribute to our efforts, make your donation online, or contact our Membership department.  

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
More News
Support nonprofit, public service journalism you trust. Give now.