So,... Uzi Arad was in Washington after all....

So,... Uzi Arad was in Washington after all....

In Haaretz, here

"...According to a government source in Jerusalem, one senior American official who took part in the discussions said he did not believe the Israeli prime minister would present a recalcitrant position on the Palestinian issue in Washington. "Netanyahu will not risk simultaneous conflict with the United States, the Western countries and the moderate Arab states," the official predicted.

Netanyahu's advisers -attorney Yitzhak Molcho, National Security Council head Uzi Arad and public relations chief Ron Dermer - will return Friday from preparatory talks in the U.S. capital. The advisors have also been working on Netanyahu's remarks at the press conference with Obama, with the goal of avoiding any public discord between the two leaders over the issue of a Palestinian state. In particular, they are preparing possible responses to questions Netanyahu might be asked on the two-state solution, construction in the settlements, the Arab peace initiative and illegal outposts...."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 4:43 PM

Kerry: "Two-state-solution closing for a number of reasons : crushed aspirations, demographics & realities on the ground..."

Haaretz, here

"It's closing for a number of reasons - crushed aspirations, demographics, realities on the ground," the Massachusetts Democrat, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan.

Kerry's comments came amid mounting international pressure on Israel to accept the two-state solution, a step Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reluctant to take..."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 1:26 PM