The fate of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will be determined over the next two weeks. It is still quite possible that we will have to announce their untimely death, while they are still in their father’s (Secretary of State John Kerry’s) womb.

The negotiations may yet founder and die before they even see the light of day and scream for the very first time. On the other hand, it is possible that the parties will return to the negotiating table after a four-year hiatus, only to discover that the gaps between their positions are just as hefty as before, or that they have even gotten heftier over the years (as happens to all of us).

It has already been reported that Palestinian Chairman Abu Mazen extended the final, decisive date by two weeks. The Americans are sending out contradictory messages (on one hand, we cannot want peace more than the two parties themselves, while on the other hand, we seem to want peace more than both of the parties), and, the Israelis are bickering among themselves. Only Kerry is still running back and forth in a frenzy, still believing.

Here is what is happening. Right now, the Americans don’t consider Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be the real obstacle to renewing the negotiations. The Americans have reached the conclusion that it is possible to do business with Netanyahu. He is not a real ideologue. What motivates him is his desire to survive politically. So, if Bibi [Netanyahu] believes that he can get his coalition to support negotiations with the Palestinians, he will go for it.