Kerry had little luck in Israel on Jan. 2 when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And judging by Kerry's impromptu remarks to American students — "I am a believer in the possibility ... we could achieve something, but it will be very, very difficult" — his day on Friday, Jan. 3, was not much better.
Six months ago, the indefatigable secretary of state claimed success in arranging direct discussions between Israeli and Palestinian delegations. Kerry evidently had hoped that with the help of a US facilitator, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) could work out a diplomatic road map on their own. To date, however, these talks have succeeded only in illuminating the gaps between the two sides on the host of issues confronting them, and the inadequacy of the initial US effort to facilitate a peace agreement via this dialogue of the deaf.