The Obama administration is not expecting to meet its April 29 deadline for introducing a framework for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, owing to persistent differences between the two sides, the Jerusalem Post <a href="Mike Flynn ” target=”_blank”>reports.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts, including ten personal visits by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the region, the two sides appear no closer to progress on the broad outlines of a deal. (Instead, Kerry’s numerous gaffes have alienated both sides.)
One sticking point for the Palestinians has been the Americans’ insistence that they recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. On the Israeli side, there are persistent disagreements with Kerry’s suggested security arrangements for the Jordan Valley, though the Israeli government was expected to accept the framework in principle (as it did with the Road Map in 2003).