As Iraq Policy Falters, Kerry Pushes Gaza Solution

While the miltary situation in the fight against ISIS becomes more troubling, Secretary of State John Kerry is on the diplomatic front, trying to push Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the bargaining table for a two-state solution to their conflict.

Kerry addressed a donors conference for Gaza in Cairo on Sunday, pledging an additional $212 million to the Palestinians.  That makes more than $400 million in U.S. aid since the Gaza crisis began when Hamas kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in June and fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

The secretary cautioned that along with the financial help must be an understanding that everything will be a "Band-Aid fix" unless the wider problems between Israel and the Palestinians are settled.

"Make no mistake: what was compelling about a two-state solution a year ago is even more compelling today, "Kerry said.

He also suggested that putting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in charge of solving the Gaza problems is a major piece of the puzzle.

"We can and should see Palestinian Authority customs officials at Gaza's borders.  We can and should help the PA to expand its control in Gaza, streamline Gaza's workforce, and continue to play a key role in the end-use monitoring mechanism for Gaza," Kerry said.

While the donors conference was meeting in Cairo, Palestinian Media Watch released a series of statements by Palestinian Authority leaders in recent weeks.  

One of them was attributed to the deputy-secretary of Abbas's Fatah Party, Jabril Rajoub, who was quoted on PA television saying, "Brother [Hamas], your weapon, the weapon of resistance, is sacred to us. We will not harm it, go after it or keep track of it.  But could you store it away?  At the moment of truth, we will all enlist together, we will all fight together."