Transcript

SENATOR KERRY:  We have reached a new moment in an old conflict. A conflict that has confounded leaders and diplomats for decades and which to many seems more intractable today than in any time in recent memory. But I’m convinced that despite Palestinian divisions, renewed outbreak of war, continued firing of rockets from Gaza, over a dozen in the past week alone, and Israel’s political turns, despite all of this, this can actually be a moment of opportunity.

We all understand that peace will not come to the Middle East overnight or easily but my friends, there is a path forward. And if we are to avoid greater conflict, and perpetual confrontation, and countless lost opportunities and lives, we have to pursue that path now with urgency.

In my recent trip to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, I felt first-hand, in personal ways, the frustration and the hunger of people on all sides who have grown tired of broken promises, tired of peace talks that lead to more war, tired of more war that leads to more desperation and more cynicism.

I saw a region made wary by the failures of the past, but also, keenly aware of the critical two truths, if you will, about this particular moment. On the one hand, the election of not just a new President, but of Barack Obama in particular, presents an extraordinary chance to signal a new approach, a new pragmatism, a new spirit of possibility, and especially a renewed willingness to listen and to lead. On the other hand, we’ve reached a moment of grave danger when rising extremism and facts on the ground threaten the basic future of viability of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Leadership, quite simply leadership, will determine which side of the ledger we will fall on. Leadership by all, by each state in the troubled region, but let me tell you above all, leadership by the United States of America.

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