John Kerry

It has always seemed the case that when there might be real change on any heated issue, it means both sides accepting a compromise. As it is approached, the extremists on each side often act to stop it under the (in many cases delusional) view that they can get everything they want by not compromising.

I have been using google to get bios of people who have spoken out -- such as the Defense Minister today. You would think the American media would try to provide that context. The Defense Minister, for example, was a senior fellow at the Adelson Foundation when out of government and is pictured with "activist" Pam Geller! on his wiki bio page. He has made incendiary comments about Palestinians -- even calling them "a cancer".

I think it is never a good bet that a final deal will be made here - but, it was a long shot for talks to start and a long shot for them to continue. Remember that BOTH pay a price for continuing. The Palestinians will not advocate for action in the UN and Israel has released several groups of prisoners. This means NEITHER are doing this just to make Kerry (or Obama) happy, but because they both see the problems in continuing the status quo.