With complete freedom of action given to him Barack Obama, the new U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, spares no efforts to revive the process of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Not without results. He seems distant time of the Oslo Accords, when the mid-1990s, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators met in any place and at any time, without preconditions or indirect talks, so as to become inseparable. The Israeli-Palestinian dialogue has since lost much of its spontaneity, confining U.S. diplomacy in recent years, the role of messenger, often helplessly between the two parties. In the first term of Barack Obama visits each of his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in the Middle East that was preceded by a special envoy - like the indefatigable George Mitchell - preparatory meetings subject to endless deliberate, as if political concessions were playing before they are discussed by the protagonists. This method is costly in time and energy will prove unsuccessful. Worse, it will tarnish the balance of the foreign policy of President Obama. Yet something changed since his re-election in November, and especially since the appointment of John Kerry instead of Hillary Clinton, as if Washington had found his second wind. Of course, with five trips to the region in the space of three months, the new U.S. Secretary of State has not quite broken with the "shuttle diplomacy." But his approach aimed primarily at restoring trust between Israelis and Palestinians, differs from its predecessors. "We work hard," says the person himself. Between Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman, John Kerry multiplies helicopter rides and do not hesitate to shake his schedule if it considers that its mission can succeed. On 29 June, he and cancel a planned dinner in Abu Dhabi on assisting the Syrian rebels to be able to meet again with Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, he had met the day before twice. Therapy In three days, successive talks with Israeli Prime Minister and the leader of the Palestinian Authority have lasted about ten hours. Sign dedication almost limitless, John Kerry favors appointments face to face, in camera, up to deny the presence of others at his side. Although responsible for the Palestinian issue, the Israeli minister Tzipi Livni has learned the hard way by waiting a long time in any part of the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem - June 28 - while Netanyahu and Kerry discussed the terms of stimulus peace process. From time to time, according to witnesses, a butler beckoned to him to enter the meeting room adjacent. Where it was clear after a few minutes. Just like a psychologist, U.S. Secretary of State is first to listen and each expressed doubt, he tried to reassure his interlocutor. "With Abbas and Netanyahu, he leads a kind of couples therapy, even if the sessions are individual yet," notes the political editor of Haaretz, Barak Ravid. When he is asked about his method, John Kerry said he "diplomacy in blood" after twenty-eight years of loyal service in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate. "He believes in personal contact, and his pioneering work is needed to address challenges such as the Israeli-Palestinian peace," says Carol Giacomo in the columns of the New York Times. Patience For many observers, the former Democratic presidential candidate accomplished without pressure but with determination one of the last missions of his political career. In the Middle East, his motto is summarized in two words: efficiency and discretion. John Kerry deliberately avoids the big announcements and is hardly fixed maturity. "What matters is that there is progress before the UN General Assembly in September," he pleads, as if to avoid a bitter disappointment. For now, no significant breakthrough has been recorded. Nevertheless, persistent rumors suggest an imminent return to the negotiating table, desired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. For his part, Netanyahu rejects any precondition for the resumption of dialogue, particularly the settlement freeze, but that he would be willing to remove 90% of the West Bank. Considering that patience is a virtue in the Middle East, Barack Obama may have made a wise choice by focusing on personality and experience of John Kerry. "I know you will be a great secretary of state," he shouted to his protégé when his inauguration in January.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 09:58:49 +0000