Can John Kerry really broker Arab-Israeli peace?

So many others have tried and failed. And so much could still go wrong.

Can Secretary of State John Kerry do what so many other American diplomats have tried and failed to do?
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

On Monday evening in Washington, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are sitting down for the first time in three years to try and hash out a Mideast peace plan. The resumption of peace talks follows months of intense face-to-face diplomacy from Secretary of State John Kerry.

Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "have demonstrated a willingness to make difficult decisions that have been instrumental in getting to this point," Kerry said in a statement on Sunday. "We are grateful for their leadership."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.