U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry allegedly ditched a meeting initiated by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli and Ramallah officials quoted by Haaretz Sunday morning.
As with most reports on the “peace process,” you have to search for the kernel of truth amid the pile of lies.
Or in the language of State Dept. spokesman John Kirby, the details that were reported are not exactly accurate.
The story began last Monday, when Abbas told four retired Israeli ambassadors that he had said last month he was ready to meet with Netanyahu but, according to the Haaretz report, “a third party who is not Israeli” ditched the idea.
Netanyahu also has been stating how much we supposedly wants to meet with Abbas to revive the “peace process.” Both men must know they are playing charades, but on the other hand, both know that Abbas is standing on a thin limb on a high tree by putting all his eggs in the basket of the United Nations, whose General Assembly talk is the organization’s contribution to global warming. And both know that anarchy threatens to blow up the whole works.
According to the report, a third party from a country other than the United States set up a meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, who then said he needed Kerry’s permission.
That already sounds a bit cockeyed since Abbas has diplomatically spit in the face of Kerry for years, peaking with the Palestinian Authority’s stating that it is putting the “peace process” in the hands of the United Nations, a move which is the last nail in the coffin of the Oslo Accords that call for negotiations with Israel.
Kerry reportedly told Abbas not to meet with Netanyahu without his illustrious presence. For the time being, Kerry has other things on his mind, particularly making sure Congress does not turn the tables and vote against the nuclear deal with Iran.
American officials’ interpretation of the story indicates they may finally be right on at least one thing in the Middle East. Their version is that Abbas simply is trying to blame Kerry for a meeting which the Palestinian Authority leader really does not want.