Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would be happy to hear of any American proposal to resume the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that have been largely frozen since the end of 2008.
“We welcome any initiatives that you and others will bring forward in this regard,” he told US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem. The two also devoted time during their meeting to discuss Iran's ongoing nuclear program, with the American diplomat issuing a stark warning to Tehran.
With the talks over, Kerry left Israel, heading for London. Kerry arrived in Israel from Turkey and Jordan and had spent the past three days shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah, holding meetings with leaders and trying to break the deadlock.
Palestinians have insisted that Israel halt settlement construction and Jewish building in East Jerusalem. Israel has rejected that request and insisted that negotiations must move forward without preconditions.
Kerry has tried to find a bridge between these two positions; even as both sides have added additional requests, such as Palestinian demands for an Israeli withdrawal from sections of Area C, additional prisoner releases from Israeli jails, and a pledge that Israel would no longer withhold tax funds as a punitive measure.
Israel in turns has indicted that it could be more flexible toward the Palestinian Authority in return for a pledge that it recognize Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland of the Jewish people.
“I am determined not only to resume the peace process with the Palestinians, but to make a serious effort to end this conflict once and for all. This has economic components,” Netanyahu told Kerry on Tuesday.
But, he added, any proposal must involve “political discussions that will address a myriad of issues, foremost in our minds the questions of recognition and security.”
In spite of the appearance of continued deadlock, Kerry said, he believed he had made progress on his visit.
“I think it’s fair to say that we made progress, that we were pleased with the substance of the discussion and agreed, each of us, to do some homework,” he said.
He added that he would do his “homework” in the course of the next few weeks” to see “how we can really pull all of the pieces together.”
He particularly lauded Netanyahu “for his good faith efforts here. It’s been serious, it’s been focused, and I would characterize it as very productive.”