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| Israel Halts Prisoner Release as Talks Hit Impasse | Israel Halts Prisoner Release as Talks Hit Impasse |
| (5 months later) | |
| ALGIERS — Israel said on Thursday that it would not go through with an already delayed release of Palestinian prisoners and was considering further sanctions against the Palestinians as the threat to the peace talks deepened further despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s concerted efforts to keep the process alive. | |
| The talks have spiraled into an impasse as each side accuses the other of bad faith and places impediments in the way of a resolution. | The talks have spiraled into an impasse as each side accuses the other of bad faith and places impediments in the way of a resolution. |
| The Israeli decision came after the Palestinian leadership formally applied for membership in 15 international conventions and treaties, a move Jerusalem deemed an unacceptable violation of the American-brokered terms for the talks that began in July. But the Palestinians say they took that step only after the Israelis failed to meet the deadline for releasing the prisoners. | The Israeli decision came after the Palestinian leadership formally applied for membership in 15 international conventions and treaties, a move Jerusalem deemed an unacceptable violation of the American-brokered terms for the talks that began in July. But the Palestinians say they took that step only after the Israelis failed to meet the deadline for releasing the prisoners. |
| Worried that the process was in danger of collapsing, Mr. Kerry publicly appealed to the leaders to “lead” and not let the atmosphere deteriorate further. | Worried that the process was in danger of collapsing, Mr. Kerry publicly appealed to the leaders to “lead” and not let the atmosphere deteriorate further. |
| President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority had pledged not to seek membership in international bodies for the nine months allotted for the negotiations, in return for the release by Israel in four groups of 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners, many of them convicted of murder. | President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority had pledged not to seek membership in international bodies for the nine months allotted for the negotiations, in return for the release by Israel in four groups of 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners, many of them convicted of murder. |
| But Israel sought to condition the release of the final batch on an extension of the negotiations beyond the current deadline of April 29. And though the Palestinians blamed Israel for delaying the fourth release beyond a late-March deadline and precipitating the current crisis, Israel is now accusing the Palestinians of having foreclosed the planned release with their move. | But Israel sought to condition the release of the final batch on an extension of the negotiations beyond the current deadline of April 29. And though the Palestinians blamed Israel for delaying the fourth release beyond a late-March deadline and precipitating the current crisis, Israel is now accusing the Palestinians of having foreclosed the planned release with their move. |
| People involved in the negotiations said Tzipi Livni, the Israeli government’s chief negotiator, told her Palestinian counterparts during an intense overnight meeting convened by Martin Indyk, Mr. Kerry’s envoy, that the Palestinians had acted even though they knew the Israeli government was making a genuine, coordinated effort to arrange the prisoners’ release. | People involved in the negotiations said Tzipi Livni, the Israeli government’s chief negotiator, told her Palestinian counterparts during an intense overnight meeting convened by Martin Indyk, Mr. Kerry’s envoy, that the Palestinians had acted even though they knew the Israeli government was making a genuine, coordinated effort to arrange the prisoners’ release. |
| Ms. Livni called on the Palestinians to withdraw their applications and return to the negotiating table, according to people with knowledge of the three-way meeting, arguing that unilateral steps would not advance the negotiations or the Palestinians’ cause. (None of those briefed on, or involved in, the meetings would speak publicly because Mr. Kerry had asked them to preserve the secrecy of the discussions.) | Ms. Livni called on the Palestinians to withdraw their applications and return to the negotiating table, according to people with knowledge of the three-way meeting, arguing that unilateral steps would not advance the negotiations or the Palestinians’ cause. (None of those briefed on, or involved in, the meetings would speak publicly because Mr. Kerry had asked them to preserve the secrecy of the discussions.) |
| But the Palestinians seemed to think they had the upper hand. | But the Palestinians seemed to think they had the upper hand. |
| “For the first time the Palestinians have something to use against Israel if it does not abide by agreements, and we made use of it,” a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said Thursday. “We will not withdraw the applications. They stand.” | “For the first time the Palestinians have something to use against Israel if it does not abide by agreements, and we made use of it,” a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said Thursday. “We will not withdraw the applications. They stand.” |
| Maan, an independent Palestinian news agency, published what it said were new, stringent conditions set by Palestinian negotiators for any extension of the talks beyond April 29. | Maan, an independent Palestinian news agency, published what it said were new, stringent conditions set by Palestinian negotiators for any extension of the talks beyond April 29. |
| They include a written commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that he recognizes the 1967 lines as the basis for the borders of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the release of an additional 1,200 prisoners — terms the Israelis would almost certainly reject. | They include a written commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that he recognizes the 1967 lines as the basis for the borders of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the release of an additional 1,200 prisoners — terms the Israelis would almost certainly reject. |
| The details of the Maan report could not immediately be confirmed. | The details of the Maan report could not immediately be confirmed. |
| But Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian official, told Agence France-Presse, “Israel has a habit of evading agreements and conventions it has signed.” He added: “That is why conditions for future negotiations must change radically.” | But Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian official, told Agence France-Presse, “Israel has a habit of evading agreements and conventions it has signed.” He added: “That is why conditions for future negotiations must change radically.” |
| An Israeli official said Jerusalem was considering further practical steps against the Palestinians. In the past, Israel has applied sanctions like withholding the transfer of tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. | An Israeli official said Jerusalem was considering further practical steps against the Palestinians. In the past, Israel has applied sanctions like withholding the transfer of tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. |
| Rami G. Khouri, a Palestinian journalist and the director of a public-policy institute at the American University of Beirut, said that after months in which an American mandate for secrecy around the talks had largely held, the fight leapt into the public sphere. | Rami G. Khouri, a Palestinian journalist and the director of a public-policy institute at the American University of Beirut, said that after months in which an American mandate for secrecy around the talks had largely held, the fight leapt into the public sphere. |
| “You have some posturing going on, which is just another form of negotiating — they’re negotiating in public now rather than in private,” Mr. Khouri said. “Each side is trying to curry favor with public opinion so if things collapse, they can blame the other side.” | “You have some posturing going on, which is just another form of negotiating — they’re negotiating in public now rather than in private,” Mr. Khouri said. “Each side is trying to curry favor with public opinion so if things collapse, they can blame the other side.” |
| He added: “Maybe they’ll both get scared about the consequences of the collapse of the talks and come back. I suppose it’s a day at a time.” | He added: “Maybe they’ll both get scared about the consequences of the collapse of the talks and come back. I suppose it’s a day at a time.” |
| Mr. Kerry, who began the day in Algiers and then flew to Rabat, Morocco, was not informed by Israeli officials that the prisoner release had been canceled but remained engaged in intense efforts to rescue the talks. | Mr. Kerry, who began the day in Algiers and then flew to Rabat, Morocco, was not informed by Israeli officials that the prisoner release had been canceled but remained engaged in intense efforts to rescue the talks. |
| “We will continue to, no matter what, to try to facilitate the capacity of people to be able to make peace,” he said in Algiers. | “We will continue to, no matter what, to try to facilitate the capacity of people to be able to make peace,” he said in Algiers. |
| But he emphasized that it was Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas who held ultimate responsibility. | But he emphasized that it was Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas who held ultimate responsibility. |
| “In the end, my friends, as all of you know, you can push, you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises, the leaders have to lead, and they have to be able to see a moment when it is there,” Mr. Kerry said. | “In the end, my friends, as all of you know, you can push, you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises, the leaders have to lead, and they have to be able to see a moment when it is there,” Mr. Kerry said. |
| He said it would be a “tragedy” if the two sides never grappled with the issues at the core of the conflict because of a dispute over conditions to extend the talks. | He said it would be a “tragedy” if the two sides never grappled with the issues at the core of the conflict because of a dispute over conditions to extend the talks. |
| “A fight over process — how to get into a negotiation — should not stop you from getting into that negotiation,” he said. | “A fight over process — how to get into a negotiation — should not stop you from getting into that negotiation,” he said. |
| As Mr. Kerry was making the rounds in Algiers, he stopped by the American Embassy, where he made one of his two calls on Thursday to Mr. Netanyahu. Afterward, Mr. Kerry spoke to the embassy’s personnel and dependents, who had been waiting a considerable time to greet him. | As Mr. Kerry was making the rounds in Algiers, he stopped by the American Embassy, where he made one of his two calls on Thursday to Mr. Netanyahu. Afterward, Mr. Kerry spoke to the embassy’s personnel and dependents, who had been waiting a considerable time to greet him. |
| “I am really sorry that we got delayed,” he told the group. “I had a phone call, and it was one of those calls where you can’t get the other person to realize the call is over.” | “I am really sorry that we got delayed,” he told the group. “I had a phone call, and it was one of those calls where you can’t get the other person to realize the call is over.” |
| After his plane landed in Morocco, Mr. Kerry spoke with Mr. Abbas from the aircraft. | After his plane landed in Morocco, Mr. Kerry spoke with Mr. Abbas from the aircraft. |