Whether he brings the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table or ultimately fails where so many have failed before him, Kerry seems a man obsessed. . . . It is here, according to friends, colleagues and some of the recipients of his zeal, that Kerry has marshaled a lifetime of foreign policy experience, relationships and political lessons, and hopes to find his legacy. . .
. . . The Israelis and Palestinians have resisted similar inducements by previous secretaries of state for decades. Some cynics roll their eyes at Kerry’s passion and wonder if he is living in a could-have-been world after his presidential defeat in 2004. While President Obama has strongly embraced the peace process, a distracted White House has made little public input into Kerry’s efforts.But a senior administration official, one of several who spoke on the condition of anonymity about high-level relationships and high-stakes diplomacy, said that it was Obama who had given Kerry the green light to forge ahead.
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Kerry also has enormous faith in his own energy and skill in face-to-face diplomacy. He also counts as assets a lifetime in politics and the relationships built with nearly all the players in the Middle East — including Netanyahu and Abbas — during the decades he served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including four years as chairman during Obama’s first term.“Obviously, he’s personally invested,” said a second senior State Department official. “He wants these guys to feel as if he understands this situation from their perspective, from both sides,” the official said. “Part of what he’s doing here is listening. Then he wants them to understand his perspective. ”

If nothing else, Kerry has clearly impressed his interlocutors with his persistence. “The Palestinians know John Kerry very well,” chief Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a recent interview. “We know him, and he knows us,” and he would not spend all his time shuttling back and forth if he didn’t believe he could get the Israelis to the table, Rudeineh said. Israeli politicians, regardless of what they might think of possible negotiations, say that Kerry has treated Israel with respect and understanding and that his heart is in the right place.“Kerry has spent a lot of time and a lot of his prestige on this,” said Dan Meridor, a former intelligence minister, who said he thought Kerry was “a few steps” ahead of Obama on the issue. Meridor said he thinks Kerry will get the two sides to sit down and talk. “I think the risks are too high for them not to begin negotiations,” he said, although whether the talks go anywhere is another matter.

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One senior U.S. diplomat, a veteran of many previous efforts to forge a sustainable peace here, said he admired Kerry’s passion and hoped he would be able to maintain it against high odds. Both Abbas and Netanyahu are juggling internal political challenges, and the proof of their willingness to do what it may ultimately take to find a long-term solution has yet to be seen. But despite skepticism born of experience, some regional players seem to have grown enthusiastic about Kerry’s efforts. “All of us admire your investment in creating really the right environment,” Israeli President Shimon Peres said when Kerry arrived for a meeting after a three-hour session with Netanyahu.“I believe you have already created this environment,” he said. “I know that it is difficult. There are many problems, but as far as I’m concerned I can see how . . . there is a clear majority for the peace process, a two-state solution, and a great expectation that you will do it and that you can do it.”