REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, RABAT - US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday Washington was evaluating whether to continue its role in Middle East peace talks, signaling his patience with the Israelis and Palestinians was running out. There was a limit to US efforts if the parties themselves were unwilling to move forward, Kerry said during a visit to Morocco after a week of setbacks.
"This is not an open-ended effort, it never has been. It is reality check time, and we intend to evaluate precisely what the next steps will be," Kerry said, adding he would return to Washington on Friday to consult with the Obama administration.
US officials say Kerry had been blindsided by recent Israeli and Palestinian moves that compromised undertakings made when they launched the latest round of talks aimed at ending their enduring conflict last July.
"They say they want to continue, neither party has said they have called it off, but we are not going to sit there indefinitely," Kerry said in a bleak assessment of talks he has dedicated much time and energy to.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Kerry would discuss the path forward with President Barack Obama after returning to Washington.
The current phase of the Middle East peace process isn't over, and it had broken down due to "unilateral steps" by both countries that were "unhelpful," Earnest said.
"It's time for the Israeli leaders and the leaders of the Palestinian people to spend some time considering their options at this point," he told reporters.
The negotiations were catapulted into crisis at the weekend when Israel refused to act on a previously agreed release of Palestinian prisoners unless it had assurances the Palestinians would continue talks beyond an initial end-April deadline.
A senior Palestinian official, Nabil Shaath, told Reuters that Abbas had not intended to upset Kerry, but rather to shine a spotlight on Israel's failure to release the prisoners.
"I think (Kerry) will return because we have not abandoned the process," said the veteran negotiator, speaking in Ramallah, the Palestinians' administrative capital in the West Bank.
"We will continue these negotiations as we agreed, and I wish for once that America's patience runs out - with Israel and not the Palestinians," he said.
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