Screen shot of John Kerry in Israel. Photo: Israel Hayom.

Times of Israel – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry launched a new round of Middle East diplomacy on Tuesday but crises in Egypt and Syria threatened to overshadow his bid to restart stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

On his sixth trip to the region in as many months as America’s top diplomat, Kerry traveled to Amman to see Arab foreign ministers and update them on his efforts to get the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. However, unlike his previous visits, he had no plans to travel to Israel or the Palestinian Authority and U.S. officials dampened expectations that there would be any kind of breakthrough or announcement on resuming direct talks.

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