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Kerry's artificial negotiations

Secretary of State John Kerry's frustrations on the Middle East should not come as a surprise.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a room overlooking the snow covered city of Jerusalem, during a meeting December 13, 2013.  REUTERS/Brian Snyder (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16GGI

"The danger of peace has been averted," was the message that one of the Likud Party's senior ministers texted on April 1 to some of his associates shortly after it became apparent that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had submitted a request to be inducted into 15 UN bodies with a state status. Publicly, this minister actually backs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "supports" the two-state solution. Internally, however, this minister knows full well that anyone caught voting or supporting the compromises and proposals entertained by US Secretary of State John Kerry will pay a stiff price in the upcoming Likud primary.

So any life-seeking right-wing or centrist politician in Israel knows that things are better off this way. Peace or negotiation with the Palestinians is a sure recipe for trouble at home. So who needs this headache? Senior Likud ministers are asking the question, which is just as apt for Kerry. His headache this week was even greater than those of Israel's right-wing ministers. He had not only the Israelis, but also the Palestinians in his aching head.

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