>> the peace talks between israelis and palestinians are on the verge of collapse. again. >> is there really a chance between the israelis and the palestinians. that's the "inside story." [♪ music ] >> hello, i'm ray suarez. now stop me if you heard this one before. american diplomats jet here and

there talk extensively with palestinian representatives, talk extensively with israeli representatives, keep talks going when they threaten to unravel in mutual renation, and then what, the two sides remain in contact officially and quietly behind the scenes israelis insist on things that they know the palestinians will never agree to without significant concessions, and palestinians mak insist on things that they know the israeli also never accept. israeli and palestinian negotiators carried on with u.s. brokered peace talks after the effort came close to collapse. >> the near unraveling came when israel announced it would not release another batch of

palestinian prisoners breaking it's own commitment in the negotiations. palestinian protesters clashed with israeli forces in the west bank shortly after. israel said its hand was forced. palestinian leader mahmood abbas went ahead and saw membership to 15 international treaties and conventions, something he promised not to do during talks. >> this step will affirm the state of palestine, and it is a good step to get recognition from the whole world as our status of a state like other states but under occupation. >> israel let a prisoner-release deadline expire in march.

president benjamin netanyahu said he would not stand for unilateral moves. >> palestinian threats to approach the u.n. will not affect us. palestinians have much to loose by taking unilateral steps. they will only achieve a state through direct negotiation not by empty declaration or unilateral measures. these will only push further away peace agreement. unilateral steps on their part will be answered by unilateral steps from our side. we're willing to continue with the talks but not at any cost. >> before abbas' move, netanyahu said his cabinet was about to to approve a deal including restraints in new settlements. the release of jonathan pollard. the u.s. convicted pollard of

spying for israel in 1987. the question of jewish settlements in occupied territory is causing tensions in israel's cabinet. while the palestinian authority negotiate for peace hamas continues to fire rockets into israel from the gaza strip. and one of israel's negotiators said the u.s. role as lead mediator is hindering the talks process. >> i believe we need to move to more meetings, direct with the palestinians. >> meaning less american involvement? >> less american involvement, yes. >> u.s. patience may be running out. secretary of state john kerry said as much last week. there needs to be a reality check. >> there are limit tots amount of time and effort that the

united states can spend if the parties themselves are unable to take constructive steps. >> kerry has given the talks a deadline of april 29th. he didn't say what the next move will be if the current negotiations break down. >> today both israeli and palestinian negotiators reported they held serious and constructive talks over the weekend, and they've asked the state department to arrange more meetings in the coming days. but are they talks that could lead somewhere? is the obama administration chasing illusory games in the long-term stand off between the two sides, gains that have alluded american administrations for years now.

my guests here in washington, richard la baron, senior fellow at the lappet council. h the atlanta council. and from los angeles, the author of "palestine inside out: an every day occupation." he is a professor at the security of california los angeles. richard la barren, do israeli s and palestinians agree on enough for the united states to have something to broker? is there enough voter in that diagram that gives the united states a place to stand on to help these talks continue? >> well, that's a good question, and i think we don't know the real answer to it because one of the aspects of these talks has been important is that they have been very discrete, "p" both sides have not talked about them very much. they've left it to secretary kerry to be the spokesman on the substance of the talks.

what we do know is that they are engaged in the so-called final status issues. these difficult issues of territory, borders, the status of jerusalem. we know that they're engaged on those issues. the palestinians say the differences have widened during the negotiations, but i think it's a little hard to tell exactly where they are. but i'm encouraged by the fact that they are at least engaging on the real issues that divide the two sides. >> has taking this amount of time hurt both the palestinian cause and israeli aspirations to finally have an end to this? >> well, it depends on what you mean by this amount of time. these negotiations have been going on in one way or another for more than 20 years now. so they hurt the palestinian cause in that in the past 20 years they've seen the number of israeli settlements multiply and the situation inside israel

worsen and the situation of refugee worsen. on the other hand, the stall, the break down in these negotiations has also opened up the opportunity for palestinian civil society to articulate new visions of a just and lasting peace that don't have anything to do with the current framework of talks. they are going in different sets ever directions which i think would bring both people closer to a real peace settlement than anything being negotiated around this table today. >> dan, in those more than 20 years that was just mentioned, has there been an evolution inside israel over what a final status would look like, over what could be accepted by the broad enough israeli society to agree on what the final shape looks like? >> well, you know, 20 years is a very long time, and we should

consider it after the accords in 1993. i think there was a willingness, and then after the murder by a jewish extremely and then an outbreak of violence and early in 2000 the suicide-bombers that were wreaking havoc in the cities of israel there were serious deterioration and belief that the palestinians are a partner. the former prime minister said that, and now there is a fear, and actually had has already been said by others, that th they are already blaming the palestinians for this failure. so i think that the israelis today, if we're talking about today, there is very big desire

for peace, but there is a lack of belief that there is a partner on the other side. and there is a mirror on the israeli side. >> it also questioned the united states long-term status as a broker between the two size. whether that was an effective relationship. what's the femaling in israel? is the united states an essential partner in these three-way negotiations? >> well, you know, i think there is no doubt that secretary kerry has invested a tremendous unprecedented amount of time and effort and energy in trying to bring the two parties to the table to talk and to reach a successful deal. on the other hand there is no doubt that at least from some a parts of the israeli governments that these efforts were red called. we know what the minister--the defense minister

said, and others, so you know, i think that perhaps today from a very right wing government perhaps the relationship to the united states has taken a little bit for granted. i think that the--we have not seen the type of pressure that the united states can if it wishes wield in order to bring israel to the stable. and to make serious steps towards reaching an agreement. you know, i don't see anybody else who has the capability to broker a deal. but then again i don't think we're going to see anything until the 29th of april. i think that this round of negotiations is pretty much--has pretty much ended. you know, the palestinians and the israelis have to think about the day after. >> so is it unusual as a

palestinian to hear an israeli sitting in tel aviv questioning the role of the united states in these negotiations? usually it's the palestinians who are worried about the u.s. status as an honest broker between the two sides. >> no, i mean, there are different israeli positions, obviously, but i think more interesting than that is the question of what are we negotiating about? because if you look at it in the perspective of the 20 years plus that the people have been talking, what is kind of under discussion at most is some version of some kind of palestinian state in bits and pieces of the territories that israel occupied in 1967. the problem is that the majority of palestinians don't live in those territories, and the majority of the palestinians have been excluded from the negotiating framework all together. so i mean by that, the largest single component of the palestinian people are those living in exile and as refugees,

and the palestinians living at second class citizens in israel. their agenda, their interests, their rights are not part of the conversation. how can we even talk about a framework of peace when the majority of palestinians have no voice, their rights, their interests, their demands are not represented as the negotiating table. how can we talk about peace in that sense. well, what other modes of peace can we talk about? i think it's clear to the majority of palestinians that the only road towards peace are the ones that accommodates the rights and needs of all palestinians, the refugeings, the ones in israel, and israel as well. that's what we have to try to start thinking about. to >> we're going to take a short break right now.

when we come back we'll hear from richard la baron on the long road to peace taken by the united states, and we'll talk more about how you would bring the rest of the palestinian diaspora into the conversation if you want to know what they think about a future state. this is inside story. plan

>> on al jazeera america >> techknow our experts take you beyond the lab >> there's about five million points of data >> and explore the technology changing our world. only on al jazeera america . >> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. israeli and palestinian negotiators are still talking, trying to keep the peace process alive. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he wants the talks to continue, but, quote, not at any price. both sides broke commitments last week that threaten the whole process. secretary of state kerry said april 29th is the deadline for progress. when an american secretary of state says something like that, richard, la baron, i'm not sure that i believe it because it seems like there is always more palestinians. >> i think its important that we put some deadline on this process, but i don't rule out

that it will take longer than april 29th to make any significant progress. i wouldn't be too focused on that date . >> but have presidents been a little gun shy as you look at this arc of washington and israel, but also between the united states and the middle east . presidents have spent a lot of time and press siege trying to get something work the out that they can put on their trophy she have as a durable peace. yet it keeps coming short, but no one says i'm not going to bother. i'm going to stop this. >> when i told my wife that i was going to come on your show and talk about the pea process

assess, she rolled her eyes and said not that again. that's an attitude that is heavily reflected in the population right now . i think the administration was right to layout these two priorities. on the one hand the palestinian process and then on the other, the iranian issue. no one is going to be praised for doing these things. they're going to be sniped at, they're going to be criticized from all quarters. they have to show leadership. not i think it applies across the board. when i lived in that region in

israel or kuwait, what people want in the middle east is something very simple. it's a normal life. a life of some certainty about the future, certainty about their kids' future. where they're going to go to school, where they're going to work, where they're going to find a house to live in. that brings it to the forefront. this is about people. it's not just about leadership >> does that sound right to you? >> of course, that's undoubtedly the case. i wholeheartedly agree. as a palestinian you can't have a normal live if you live outside of the territory from where you were excelled. you can't live a normal life

going from point a to point b. with the whims and moods of the check points and the israeli government themselves. and you can't live a normal life as a palestinian citizen of israel because you're denied rights that you see your jewish neighbors routinely granted. this is historically, it's not--this is important, i think. it's not about two squabbling sides which is this debate has been set up. it's not about two equal parties who are having a domestic tiff. it's about two ungrossly unequal parties when people have been dispossessed of their homes, their livelihoods destroyed, their capacity to live every day lives shattered and shorten ed to the colonizing state which has

inside it's own territory and occupying ing territoryies formal and informal apartheid. if we take it necessary and say what would it take to insure a normal life for israelis and palestinians alike, it has to be the end of military occupation, the dismantling of apartheid both inside of israel and the occupied territories, and let people--will it be perfect? will it be nirvana? no, but let people sort out their differences in a way that it's always been, to let people sort things out in the normal framework. that's not going to happen with the way that the negotiations have been staged at the moment. >> but every day israelis must feel something quite short of

normalcy when rockets rain in from gaza, when you worry about a bus blowing up, when you wonder whether your reservist children are going to come back both mentally and physically in one piece from all this. there is a shortage of normalcy on both sides of the line, isn't there? >> well, you know, i have to agree that there is no equality between israel and palestine, or israelis and palestinians. there was an unilateral disengage ment. we see the results today. we did see the rise of the hamas to power in gaza, and that undoubtedly a problem for israel

israel, israel is suffering from fire. from the west bank side it has been quiet and buses have not been exploding in israel. in the past 2013 there was a rise of building in settlements in the west bank. they used to blame the palestinians or the israeli government used to blame the palestinians for terrorism, for a resolving door. today they're known for going to the u.n. after they preached the commitment to release the fourth set of palestinian prisoners. you know, i think that israel is strong enough today

to take a risk for peace. i don't think there is enough support for the israeliing government and there is enough support in the israeli public to go the full extent that the palestinians require and deserve, and i think that's where the deadlock lies. i definitely agree that we have to think of new paradigms separation, a strict separation with walls is simply something that i don't think can work. >> we're going to take a short break. when we come back we'll wrap up the conversation and get a lead of what the near future holds. this is "inside story." >> i'm actually quite nervous... >> as u.s. forces prepare to leave afghanistan, fault lines brings you an eye opening look at what life is really like under the taliban. from girls attending school, to enforcing sharia law. >> they rely on the local

population, and so they need to win the hearts and minds of locals to be able to fight. >> then immediately after, an american tonight special edition, >> explain how you were able to get access to the taliban. >> fault lines: this is taliban country then, an american tonight special edition only on al jazeera america

>> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. on this edition of the program

we're talking about the israeli-palestinian peace process. and we're very close to the end of our time. we want to whip around the table once more and get your best crystal ball gazing on the coming few weeks. is there anything big that the two sides are close enough on that there's some near term agreement that can give a basis of going forward? >> oh, no, the way forward is clearly not this way. the pa way forward has been articulated by the palestinian society and israelis well and that's a state that treats everybody equally. if the american people believe in the fundamental rights of justice and equality, one day i think they'll pressure their government to do so.

but it will be from the ground up, not from the top down. >> anything in the near term that you can get a quick victory on that gives you basis to continue talking? >> i doubt that very much. i think the key question is going to be will the palestinians be able to continue with international with international of the conflict without violence? it's a very big challenge for the palestinians. they're going to suffer in the process. there's no question about that, but i think in the end if they succeed in doing that, then they have a good chance to make serious inroads sometime in the future, and i don't know how soon that's going to be. >> finally to you, richard? >> i don't see this as a moment of gestures or good will. as has been suggested in the

past. the peace process has never been a popularity contest. this is a time for leadership from all sides and i encourage john kerry to encourage that from the israelis and the palestinians. >> would you consider yourself optimistic? >> i wouldn't call it optimistic or pessimist, but it will be good for all. >> we want to hear what you think of this or any day's shows log in to our facebook page. send us your thoughts on twitter or you can reach me directly at ray suarez. in washington, i'm ray suarez.

>> >> good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. let's get you caught up on the top stories this hour. the crisis in ukraine is escalating in the east. pro-russian protesters declared the city of donetsk an independent republic. russia is instigating the situation. >> secretary of state john kerry once again warning of more sanctions if russia does invade. signals from what may be the black box flight recorder from the missing malaysia airlines flight have been detected. teams are searching before the black box batteries run out. it's been 31 days since the