Epstein Secrets

y, the White House had largely left the peace process to Mr. Kerry. But last month, Mr. Obama met separately at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, to urge both to sign on to a framework that would guide negotiations toward a final agreeme

o dispel a perception on the part of Mr. Abbas that Israel's release of 104 Palestinian prisoners would include Palestinian citizens of Israel. Mr. Netanyahu never agreed to that, saying it would require a separate cabinet decision because it raised sensitive questions of sovereignty. "The seeds of this

that would guide negotiations toward a final agreement. When that effort fell short, the White House authorized Mr. Kerry to offer the release of Jonathan J. Pollard, an American convicted in 1987 of spying for Israel, whose freedom Israel has long sought. As part of a quid pro quo, the talks would have been ext

the two parties that are supposed to be negotiating. The simple answer is that, despite lavishing his time and attention on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over the past year, Secretary of State John F. Kerry has failed to persuade either to budge from widely div

admitting defeat. Mr. Kerry embarked on his Mideast initiative in spite of the Obama administration's previous failure to mediate talks between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas and the abundant evidence that the two men lack the will or trust in each other to forge a deal. He wagered that he could persuade Mr

ard." President Obama has given Mr. Kerry broad latitude to try to keep the process alive, even authorizing him to discuss the possible release of Jonathan J. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence officer serving a life sentence in the United States for espionage, whose release Israel has long sought. That would on

y, the White House had largely left the peace process to Mr. Kerry. But last month, Mr. Obama met separately at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, to urge both to sign on to a framework that would guide negotiations toward a final agreem

dispel a perception on the part of Mr. Abbas that Israel's release of 104 Palestinian prisoners would include Palestinian citizens of Israel. Mr. Netanyahu never agreed to that, saying it would require a separate cabinet decision because it raised sensitive questions of sovereignty. "The seeds of this

that would guide negotiations toward a final agreement. When that effort fell short, the White House authorized Mr. Kerry to offer the release of Jonathan J. Pollard, an American convicted in 1987 of spying for Israel, whose freedom Israel has long sought. As part of a quid pro quo, the talks would have been ex