State to Palestinians: Don’t Give Up on Us! Or on Yourselves!

As predicted/snarked, not the greatest day at the State Department press briefing. Spokesman P.J. Crowley gets asked about Fatah’s memo expressing disillusionment with President Obama:

QUESTION: Has State seen the reports coming out of Jerusalem via AP that, apparently, an internal Fatah Party document suggests that Fatah has lost faith in the Obama Administration? And if so, what is the Administration’s reaction?
MR. CROWLEY: I have not seen – I’m not familiar with those reports. Obviously, I think that in the region there’s a very strong recognition and there’s an appreciation that the Obama Administration, from the outset, has been committed to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
QUESTION: But the Palestinians seem to think that it’s great to say that you’re committed, but they feel that it’s not moving in a direction that kind of benefits them.
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean – and ultimately, if there’s going to be progress in the peace process, it will be fundamentally up to the Israelis and the Palestinians. We are committed to support this process, but they ultimately have to decide as we’re going through these discussions, based on intensive meetings by George Mitchell going back a number of months, and looking at the kind of political investment that various parties have been willing to make in negotiations, is that enough to move it to the next stage? We don’t know. That will ultimately be up to the Palestinians and the Israelis, but that’s the reason why we’re bringing these teams back to Washington this week and next to see if there’s a basis to move forward. And that’s what we pledged to do from the outset, and we continue to fulfill that valuable role.

“To see if there’s a basis to move forward”? Sounds ominous.