U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in Israel on Thursday in an attempt to re-launch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Ynet reported.
Kerry will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Netanyahu’s emissary Yitzhak Molcho, and Palestinian Authority officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Time is the enemy of a peace process. The passage of time allows a vacuum to be filled by people who don’t want things to happen,” Kerry said on Wednesday, adding that he has not set any deadlines.
“Though the Americans have plenty of goodwill, at this stage no progress can be reported or a date for a restart of the talks,” an Israeli official said.
“We’ve emphasized and we reiterate our readiness to return to the negotiating table,” said Abbas on Wednesday.
“We’ve said more than once that if the Israeli government believes in the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 line, we’ll be ready to resume the talks,” he added.
However, Yasser Abd Rabbo, executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, expressed doubt that Kerry would bring anything new to the frozen talks.
Abd Rabbo accused Israel of obstructing all attempts to resume the peace process.