U.S., European and Arab diplomats meeting in Paris Friday are hoping to find enough common ground to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Washington's response to the French effort has been tepid, with Secretary of State John Kerry agreeing to attend simply to listen to ideas proposed by France and others.
Despite the recent escalation in violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and the fact that representatives of these two parties are not even scheduled to attend the French-brokered resumption of talks aimed at ending the conflict, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the swearing in Monday of ultranationalist Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said he supports a two-state solution.
Kerry did not give up hope for a lasting agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the peace talks process he brokered fell apart in April of 2014. He held tight to his vision of two states for two peoples, living side by side in peace and security, even as some called it a "fool's errand" and the two principal parties involved refused to speak to one another.