No breakthrough, but ‘real progress,’ says Kerry ahead of departure

After four days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, US Secretary of State John Kerry failed to broker agreement on terms for restarted peace negotiations, but said “real progress” had been made.

Speaking in Ramallah after his third meeting in three days with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry said: “We have had very positive… important discussions, for the last few days. We agree we have made real progress, but we have a few things we need to work on.”

The secretary was set to leave the Middle East later Sunday, and was expected to make a farewell statement at Ben Gurion Airport.

His efforts are understood to have been stymied by disputes between the sides over the modalities of talks. Abbas has demanded a settlement freeze, an Israeli commitment to talks on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, and the release of over 100 long-time Palestinian prisoners as preconditions for talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any preconditions, while saying he would discuss all issues at the talks. Kerry tried hard to shift both sides, evidently without sufficient success to yield new talks or an anticipated four-way summit of Israeli, Palestinian, American and Jordnian leaders.

Kerry’s two-hour meeting with Abbas followed a six-hour meeting with Netanyahu that extended long into Saturday night.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said after the Ramallah meeting that there had been “no breakthrough” that would lead to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated that “Israel is ready to enter negotiations without delay and without preconditions” and said that it was “essential” that any peace agreement be put forth in a general referendum to the Israeli people.

He said Israel was not putting up any impediments to new talks, but he added: “We will not compromise on security and there will be no agreement that will endanger Israelis’ security.”

After a sleepless night, Kerry left his hotel in Jerusalem in a convoy of SUVs on Sunday morning and made the half-hour journey to the West Bank to meet Abbas.

The meeting at the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah began shortly after 11 a.m. with small talk about a 23-year-old male wedding singer from a Gaza refugee camp who recently won the Arab world’s top TV contest. Mohammed Assaf was crowned “Arab Idol” last week and Abbas portrayed the singer’s victory as an achievement for all Palestinians.

Street celebrations and fireworks erupted across the West Bank and Gaza after he was named the winner.

“I heard you watched television, you watched the show,” Kerry said.

“All the time until he [the singer] succeeded,” Abbas said.

Kerry, who chuckled cheerfully through the chat, said: “It was a lot of fun to watch. It was nice to see everybody feeling good, coming out, celebrating.”

A reporter asked Kerry how the talks were progressing, but the secretary only waved, ending the photo-op and signaling the beginning of serious diplomacy.

Azzam al-Ahmad, an official with Abbas’s Fatah movement who met with the Palestinian president Saturday night, was not optimistic.

He told the Voice of Palestine Sunday morning that no progress had been made in Kerry’s efforts concerning the Palestinians demand that Israel freeze settlements, recognize the 1967 borders and release 103 Palestinian prisoners who have been held in Israeli prisons since before the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s.

“Kerry is doing his best and we appreciate these efforts, but so far he didn’t bring anything from the Israelis on our demands,” al-Ahmad said. “President Abbas told Kerry he wants him to continue his efforts but we can’t wait forever.”

Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi said he believed the sides would eventually find a way to resume talks. Hanegbi said that at the moment neither side was focusing on the core issues, but rather was seeking ways to reach the table without creating the perception that it had capitulated on its “red lines.”

Kerry was set to give a short statement summing up his visit Sunday afternoon before boarding his plane to Brunei, where he will take part in a Southeast Asia security conference on Monday and Tuesday.