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Israeli Negotiator Critiques Kerry for 2013-14 Peace Talks
(Times of Israel) Raphael Ahren - The 2013-14 effort at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking was doomed to fail because of the unrealistic goals set by the U.S. at its inception and mistakes made by the Americans during the negotiations, according to a new Israeli insider account by veteran Israeli peace negotiator Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Michael Herzog. In a lengthy article published this week in The American Interest, he cites instances where Kerry misrepresented Israel's positions to the Palestinians, such as when he misinformed Ramallah about Israel's firm opposition to releasing Palestinian security prisoners, one of the key misunderstandings that led to the talks' breakdown. After insistently launching negotiations with the unattainable goal of reaching a final-status agreement in less than a year, Kerry then mismanaged the talks as they proceeded, charges Herzog, who was a member of the Israeli negotiating team headed by then-justice minister Tzipi Livni. (Herzog, brother of Labor leader Isaac and son of former president Chaim, formerly headed the IDF's strategic planning division and served as chief of staff to the defense minister. He has participated in most of Israel's negotiations with the Palestinians, Syrians, and Jordanians since 1993.) Still, Herzog allows, despite the many missteps that doomed the talks, Kerry deserves praise "for his commitment, determination, and intelligence, and for his indispensable role in propelling the process....His mission was unenviable in that he was struggling to negotiate simultaneously with Israelis, Palestinians, and the White House."