Kerry flying to West Bank to pursue peace talks

Kerry flying to West Bank to pursue peace talks

AMMAN, Jordan (AP)— U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was planning to fly to the West Bank today to press his effort to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table after almost five years, a U.S. official said. This despite deep differences between the two sides and Palestinian reluctance to drop demands in exchange for economic incentives. Kerry was planning to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the official said, but his schedule remained unclear. This morning, he met chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman and then scheduled the short helicopter flight to Ramallah, shifting his campaign to renew the peace talks into diplomatic overdrive.