Skip to main content

US Must Sell Peace Talks To Israeli, Palestinian Public

The US has the additional task of having to convince the Israeli and Palestinian people of the merits of the current talks.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) announces further peace talks at a news conference with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (R) at the State Department in Washington, July 30, 2013. Israel and the Palestinians will seek to reach a peace agreement within nine months and negotiators will meet again within two weeks after holding a "positive" first round of talks, Kerry said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst  (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12516
US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) announces further peace talks at a news conference with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (R), at the State Department in Washington, July 30, 2013. — REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Peace talks generally require a parallel strategy aimed at communicating and convincing a reluctant public of its importance, value and ultimate benefits to the warring parties. One might think that nine months of publicly stated "secret" talks would require little communication. But the contrary is the case.

The United States, which is the single and only direct patron and sponsor of the current peace talks, is pulling all the stops to make sure that the Palestinian and Israeli public "are well-informed" — even if all sides agree that the talks are to be private.

Subscribe for unlimited access

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more

$14 monthly or $100 annually ($8.33/month)
OR

Continue reading this article for free

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more.

By signing up, you agree to Al-Monitor’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Already have an account? Log in