BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry kicked off his latest visit to Israel with a late night working dinner alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

This is Kerry’s fifth visit to the region since March as part of his concerted effort to kick-start peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Expressing optimism at achieving this goal, Kerry commented before last night’s meeting with Netanyahu, “I would not have returned here five times − I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t have a belief that this is possible.”

Although there was no official comment on the content of the meeting, an unnamed State Department official told Bloomberg that Kerry highlighted his commitment to work with all sides to reach a peace agreement. Meanwhile, AP cites another State Department official who said that although Kerry does not anticipate a three-way discussion with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, he is confident that both sides are open to negotiations. Maariv says that Kerry hopes to now broker an agreement for a future Netanyahu-Abbas meeting.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu spoke at a state memorial service for the founder of political Zionism, Theodor Herzl, saying that Israel wants peace simply “because we want to live in peace.” He also emphasised that Israel’s global popularity “will not change regardless of whether Israel is in the midst of a peace process” and that simply “Peace is desirable in and of itself.” Netanyahu also commented that peace “is not based on goodwill or legitimacy as some think. It is based, first and foremost, on our ability to defend ourselves.”

Kerry is expected to travel to Jordan today in order to meet with Abbas, before returning to Israel for a follow-up meeting with Netanyahu. The US Embassy in Israel said that Kerry plans to hold a press conference in Amman on Saturday.