The deadline set by the US government at the start of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks expired today, marking the formal end of this round of negotiations after roughly nine months.
US officials had scrambled earlier this month to get both sides to agree to a deal to extend the deadline through the end of the year, but was unable to get either side to agree to it.
Indeed, the talks have effectively been over since late March, when Israel reneged on a planned prisoner release. The only talks to happen since then were on whether or not the talks would ever restart. They didn’t.
Both sides had been much more resigned to this as the end of a round of talks than the US was, or indeed is, and President Obama was still suggesting a few days ago that a brief “pause” might help the process. In practice, it is doubtful another serious stab at negotiations will take place at all during the current Israeli government’s term.
Peace talks? There never were any real peace talks in the first place.
"Peace talks". That's a joke.