Netanyahu paints grim picture of peace talks for Kerry

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By Lesley Wroughton JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday peace talks with the Palestinians had failed to make real progress and he hoped visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry could get them back on track. The grim picture painted by the right-wing leader was similar to the one sketched by senior Palestinians, who have said an Israeli plan announced last week for 3,500 more settler homes in the occupied West Bank was a major obstacle to the success of the negotiations. "I am concerned about the progress because I see the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace," Netanyahu told reporters, with a stone-faced Kerry at his side. Netanyahu said he hoped Kerry's discussions in Jerusalem and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "will help steer (the negotiations) back to a place where we could achieve the historical peace that we seek." Kerry, whose shuttle diplomacy helped to revive the land-for-peace talks last July after a three-year break, said he was confident progress could be made in the six months remaining in a nine-month target window for a deal.




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