Chances for peace dwindling by the day, Obama says

Week before Kerry visit, US president tells party donors time is running short for Israelis and Palestinians to reach accord

By Joshua Davidovich

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and AP 14 May 2013, 2:49 am

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Air Force Col. Bill Knight, right, greets Barack Obama at Andrews Air Force Base on Monday before Obama boarded Air Force One to New York City for private fundraisers. (photo credit: AP/Ann Heisenfelt)

Chances of reaching a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians are quickly shrinking, US President Barack Obama told a group of Democratic Party donors Monday.

Speaking at a gathering in New York that included prominent Jewish party boosters, Obama reflected on his March trip to Israel, saying there’s a deep desire for peace among Israelis and Palestinians, although “the window for opportunity is growing smaller by the day.”

His words came a week before US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to make his fourth jaunt to the region in a bid to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. Kerry’s peace push kicked off on the heels of Obama’s visit.

In April, Kerry told Congress that the window for a two-state solution would likely close in the next two years.

“I can guarantee you that I am committed to this because I believe the window for a two-state solution is shutting,” Kerry said. “I think we have some period of time in the year to year-and-a-half to two years or it’s over.”

Kerry has been attempting to push both sides to make concessions that would allow for the resumption of talks.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to have instructed Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) to freeze all new tenders on settlement construction. Ariel refused to comment directly on his meeting with Netanyahu, but indicated that reports of a freeze were accurate.

On Monday, Army Radio reported that a building project in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo had been frozen for diplomatic reasons.

Also Monday, The Times of Israel revealed that Netanyahu and his aide Yitzhak Molcho held a series of talks with senior PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo designed to restart peace talks, but that the contacts ultimately failed. Abed Rabbo demanded that Israel commit to negotiating on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.

Palestinians have also been demanding that Israel halt all settlement activity as a precondition for resuming peace talks.

Netanyahu has maintained that settlement construction was among the issues to be discussed at the negotiating table, along with other final-status issues such as Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, borders, and security.

Stuart Winer and Michal Shmulovich contributed to this report.