Speculation Over Contents of US Letters to Israeli, Palestinian Delegations to Talks

Israelis and Palestinians are speculating over the contents of letters US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly gave each side as the talks between Israel and the Palestinians kicked-off in Washington. In keeping with the overall determination to keep details away from the media and the public, texts of the missives – probably over the President’s name — have been released. But it is presumed by most that the letters contain the American recitation of guidelines each side wants to hear from the other side but will have to settle on hearing it from the Americans for the moment. The Palestinian demand, for example, that a return to pre-1967 borders be accepted as the baseline for the talks is presumed to be stated in Kerry’s letter, albeit not from the Israelis. The assuage the Israelis, it is assumed that the letter recites  Kerry’s assertion that Israel is the Jewish state – a key demand by Prime Minister Netanyahu that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has promised he will never acknowledge. As well, it is expected that the issue of Palestinian refugees is being handled the same way – Kerry asserting that refugees will return to the new Palestinian state rather than to their ancestral home in present-day Israel. The need to rely on such third-party acknowledgements underscores the lack of optimism surrounding the talks. This week’s Washington sessions are seen as procedural, setting the ground rules and laying out the schedule and anticipated milestones for the next nine months – the period the parties have agreed to grant Kerry. At a news conference on Tuesday, Kerry indicated that “a number of steps to improve conditions in the West Bank and Gaza” are expected from Israel “in the next days and weeks.” There was no mention of reciprocity.