According to the New York Times, an unnamed official in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that Netanyahu is “deeply disappointed” in Secretary of State John Kerry for blaming Israel for the collapse of peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. 
 
During testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Kerry said Israel’s announcement of the construction of 700 homes in East Jerusalem was to blame. Kerry said, “Poof, that was the sort of the moment. We find ourselves where we are.”
 
Deeply disappointed is putting it mildly.
 
Over at Commentary, Jonathan Tobin rips Kerry to shreds over his outlandish claim.
 
As always, settlements are a red herring. If Israel dismantled every last settlement tomorrow it still wouldn’t bring Mahmoud Abbas to the table. As I just argued yesterday the Palestinians are the true party of no.