U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, says goodbye to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after their second meeting in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday, June 29, 2013.JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, engaged in breakneck shuttle diplomacy to coax Israel and the Palestinians back into peace talks, is flying to the West Bank on Sunday to have a third meeting in as many days with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials have declined to disclose details of the past three days of closed-door meetings, but Kerry’s decision to fly from Jerusalem to Ramallah, West Bank, to see Abbas again before he leaves the region was an indication that the secretary believes there is a chance of bringing the two sides together.
“Working hard” is all Kerry would say when a reporter asked him at a photo-op whether progress was being made.
Despite the lack of readouts, there are several clues that the meetings have been more than routine chats.
Most of Kerry’s meetings have lasted at least two hours and several of them were much longer. His initial dinner meeting Thursday night with Netanyahu was clocked at four, and the one Saturday night in a hotel suite with the Israeli prime minister and his advisers lasted more than six hours.