US Secretary of State John Kerry wound up his fifth peace shuttle trip for reviving Israel-Palestinian peace talks at the end of a fruitless third conversation with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Sunday, June 30. Abbas turned down Kerry’s blueprint for both sides to forego preconditions and return straightaway to the long-stalled peace talks. The Secretary left Ramallah empty-handed after the Palestinians reverted to their three-point ultimatum: Israel must first accept 1967 borders as the basis for negotiations, release Palestinians jailed more than 20 years and freeze West Bank and Jerusalem construction.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Israeli cabinet Sunday that he had offered to join the Palestinians to negotiate a final settlement without preconditions or further delay.
Kerry plans to return in a few weeks to resume his peace push.
Saturday night, debkafile reported Secretary Kerry believed he was close to a deal after both the Israelis and the Palestinians agreed to drop prior conditions for their meeting.