US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israeli and Palestinian leaders that they must “lead” if they want to preserve the chances for a historic Middle East peace, writes the New York Times.
John Kerry, who is in Algeria for a long-planned meeting on security issues, signaled that he was prepared to continue his efforts to encourage the two sides to reach an agreement. “The parties met even last night,” Mr. Kerry said, referring to a three-way meeting Wednesday evening between Israeli, Palestinian and American officials in Jerusalem. “We will continue to, no matter what, to try to facilitate the capacity of people to be able to make peace.”
Kerry emphasized it was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Mr. Abbas who shouldered the ultimate responsibility for salvaging the peace talks. “In the end, my friends, as all of you know, you can push, you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises, the leaders have to lead, and they have to be able to see a moment when it is there,” Kerry said, quoted by the New York Times.
