BBC Online :US Secretary of State John Kerry has said it is time for a “reality check” in the Israel-Palestinian peace process amid a deep crisis in the talks.Speaking in Morocco, Kerry said there were “limits” to the time Washington would expend on trying to get the sides to reach an agreement.He spoke after steps taken by Israel and the Palestinians in the past two days which each side said violated previous promises. Talks are meant to conclude next month.Kerry has shuttled backwards and forwards for negotiations with Israel and the Palestinians in recent weeks.However, Washington has expressed exasperation at what it calls “unhelpful, unilateral actions” taken by both sides.On a visit to Rabat on Friday, Kerry said it was time to pause and consider where the process was going.”This is not an open-ended effort, it never has been,” he said. “It is reality check time, and we intend to evaluate precisely what the next steps will be.”The talks, which resumed in July under US auspices after a three-year hiatus, appeared to be on the point of breaking down this week, with Israel and the Palestinians blaming the other.The Palestinians were furious when Israel did not sanction the release of a fourth batch of Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners, as agreed in principle under the terms on which the Palestinians returned to peace talks last year.Israel stressed that it had predicated any release on progress being made in the negotiations and on the Palestinians abiding by a commitment not to seek membership of international agencies.Cabinet members also said they would block a release unless the Palestinians agreed to extend the talks beyond 29 April, the date by which the US had said it had hoped to reach a full agreement.The Palestinians however said they would not agree to extend the talks unless the prisoners were freed and accused Israel of reneging on the deal.
