The current round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is scheduled to end on April 29. Many observers believe that this is the last opportunity to try to advance a resolution of the conflict through bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, backed by President Barack Obama, deserves credit for his determination and creativity in attempting to bring the two sides together despite all of the skepticism which greeted his efforts. The Council of the European Union also deserves credit for having issued its December 2013 policy statement on the Middle East, with its inducements to the two parties, alongside the publication of its guidelines against economic support for Israeli enterprises in settlements over the Green Line. There is no doubt that this was one of the contributing factors to the resumption of negotiations.

Clearly, the continuation of settlement building, both in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, is one of the primar
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