As Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators were headed to Washington to resume direct and final status negotiations, US Secretary of State John Kerry today conceded it was a "difficult process" but said he would not give up and appointed a special envoy for the talks.
"To help the parties navigate the path to peace and to avoid its many pitfalls," Kerry said as he announced the appointment of seasoned diplomat Martin Indyk as the US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a day-to-day basis.
The negotiations in Washington DC scheduled to kick off tomorrow will be attended by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho from Israel and the Palestinians will be represented by Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat and Mohammad Shtayyeh.
"It's no secret that this is a difficult process. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago. It's no secret, therefore, that many difficult choices lie ahead for the negotiators and for the leaders as we seek reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues," Kerry told reporters at a news conference.
"I think reasonable compromises has to be a keystone of all of this effort. I know the negotiations are going to be tough, but I also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse," Kerry said.
Emphasising on the urgency of the peace process, Kerry said Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, understands that there is now a path forward and "we must follow that path" with urgency.
"He understands that to ensure that lives are not needlessly lost, we have to ensure that opportunities are not needlessly lost. And he shares my belief that if the leaders on both sides continue to show strong leadership and a willingness to make those tough choices and a willingness to reasonably compromise, then peace is possible," he said.
Kerry who has invested a lot of his capital on the peace process ever since he became the Secretary of State has made innumerable trips to the region.
"The fact that later today, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will sit down in this building to resume final status negotiations after a three-year hiatus, is testament to your extraordinary, tireless efforts backed by President Obama, to try to resolve this intractable conflict," Indyk told reporters.
Noting that many consider this as a mission impossible, Indyk said Kerry has taken this challenge, because of his confidence that this could be done.
"Backed by the President, you drove the effort with persistence, patience and creativity. As a result, today (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and(Palestinian) President Mahmoud Abbas have made the tough decisions required to return to the negotiating table," he said.
"It is a daunting and humbling challenge, but one that I cannot desist from," he said hoping for a breakthrough.
