BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday that he would visit Israel and Palestinian territories later this month in his fourth visit to the region since taking office in February.

Since being appointed as the United States’ top diplomat, Kerry has made a concerted effort to kick-start direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Yesterday, he met in Rome with Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will also head any future Israeli delegation in peace talks with the Palestinians. It was their second meeting over the past week, after Kerry brokered an announcement by the Arab League softening its stance on conditions for a comprehensive peace deal with Israel.

Speaking ahead of yesterday’s meeting, Kerry said that he and Livni are working “with a seriousness of purpose that I think … has not been present in a while. And we all believe we’re working with a short time span,” emphasising the need for “some sense of direction as fast as we can.” Following their talks, Livni commented, “We had quite a good conversation,” reiterating that “We believe that re-launching negotiations and achieving an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is in Israel’s interest.” Livni praised Kerry’s “enthusiasm” and credited him with “recreating hope” in order “to end the conflict in accordance with the vision of two states for two people.”

Meanwhile, the White House confirmed that US President Barack Obama and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting China, spoke yesterday by phone. It was their first conversation since air strikes, widely attributed to Israel, were carried out over the weekend on Syrian military installations thought to be storing sophisticated Iranian weaponry destined for Hezbollah. The White House said that the two leaders discussed Middle East peace and agreed to continue cooperating closely on a range of security issues.