The official stance on Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank is that it was “very positive” and had made “real progress.” The reality, which of course is totally distinct, suggests a total failure.

Not only did Kerry fail to make any deal to restart the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which was supposed to be the whole point of his visit, and Palestinian officials confirmed they weren’t any closer to a “breakthrough.”

Israel followed up Kerry’s departure with another announcement settlement expansion, this time in occupied East Jerusalem’s Har Homa. Likud officials were defiant, insisting that Kerry’s visit would not prevent them from continuing to build settlement units.

An unnamed Israeli government minister also suggested that this would continue to be an issue, saying that Netanyahu was against any settlement freeze and that they will never accept “absurd” Palestinian demands.