BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed cautious optimism yesterday over the chances of progress being made in the current peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Speaking during a brief visit to Egypt, Kerry said, “I am hopeful that in the next months we can make progress and I ask people everywhere to keep their minds open, to speak the language of peace.” The Jerusalem Post cites a senior State Department official who said Israeli and PA representatives met twice last week and will meet again before Kerry’s scheduled arrival in Israel on Tuesday. Kerry is expected to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, before travelling to Bethlehem to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Kerry also addressed the Palestinian disquiet over last week’s announcement by Israel’s government to accelerate construction plans in areas beyond the pre-1967 borders, saying that “the settlements have disturbed people’s perceptions of whether or not people are serious, we’re moving in the right direction” on the issue. Prime Minister Netanyahu also commented on the construction plans, telling ministers yesterday that prior to the resumption of talks, the Palestinians knew “very well that Israel would build during the negotiations, it was made clear beforehand.” He added that the controversy following last week’s announcements was an “attempt to create an artificial crisis.”

Netanyahu told his cabinet that for peace to become reality, the PA “must recognize the right of the Jewish people to its own state in its homeland” .Netanyahu’s comments came on the ninety sixth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration issued by the British government which declared support for a national home for the Jewish people in what is now Israel. On Saturday, a PA statement called for Britain to apologise for the Balfour Declaration, which it called a “crime against humanity.”