U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has already visited the Middle East four times since being named his new post in February, meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on May 23, 2013. Photo: State Department.

JNS.org – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that time is running out on the peace process during a speech at the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum in Washington, DC.

“We’re running out of time. We’re running out of possibilities. And let’s be clear: If we do not succeed now… we may not get another chance,” said Kerry in his first speech to American Jewish leaders as secretary of state.

Meanwhile, a report on Monday quoted a U.S. official as saying America may eventually abandon the peace process if it determined that Israelis and Palestinians were not serious about negotiations.

“There are too many things going on in the world… You could bang your head on this for years and years and years,” the U.S. official told Reuters.

A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that he “refused to be moved” by the Reuters report. The official said Kerry has not presented a formal peace plan yet.

Kerry has been to the Middle East four times since taking over as Secretary of State in February. His fifth trip is planned for next week.