Kerry slams Israel for settlements, calls govt most right wing

Washington, Dec 29: In an unusual move, US Secretary of State John Kerry has criticised Israel’s decision to build new settlements in Palestine, saying the Jewish state is currently ruled by “the most right-wing” government in its history which believes in one state solution, prompting an angry reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In his hour-long major policy speech, which raised many eyebrows in both Israel and in the incoming Trump administration, Kerry said the US supports a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine conflict and believes it is the only way to achieve a “just and lasting” peace in the region. “This is an issue which all of you know I have worked on intensively during my time as Secretary of State, for one simple reason, because the two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. It is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors,” Kerry said yesterday. “It is the only way to ensure a future of freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people, and it is an important way of advancing US interests in the region,” Kerry said. He said the US’ decision to abstain from an anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution helped preserve the two-state solution. “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it won’t ever really be at peace,” Kerry said He said though Netanyahu says he believes in the two-state solution, the government he leads is “the most right-wing in Israel’s history.” “The settler agenda is defining the future of Israel. And their stated purpose is clear: They believe in one state,” Kerry said. Netanyahu was quick in slamming Kerry for putting Israel and Palestine in the same basket. “We are now celebrating Christmas. Maybe Secretary of State John Kerry didn’t see that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians can celebrate Christmas in security, and peace and happiness,” he said in Jerusalem. “Unfortunately, this doesn’t interest the president of the United States. He makes a biased comparison between building houses in the east of Jerusalem and terror that kills innocents, and after that he talks only about Israel and only merely condemns terror,” he said. Noting that he was surprised by Kerry’s speech at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, Netanyahu said the conflict was not about houses or communities in the West Bank, Judaea, Samaria, the Gaza district or anywhere else, but about Israel’s very right to exist. “The persistent Palestinian refusal to recognise the Jewish state remains the core of the conflict, and its removal is the key to peace. Palestinian rejection of Israel and support for terror are what the nations of the world should focus on if they truly want to advance peace, and I can only express my regret and say that it’s a shame that Secretary Kerry does not see this simple truth,” Netanyahu said. Kerry said in his speech that some seem to believe that the US friendship means that America must accept any policy, regardless of its own interests, own positions, own words, own principles, even after urging again and again that the policy must change. “Friends need to tell each other the hard truths, and friendships require mutual respect,” he said. Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, who does not support a two-state solution, said after the vote last week it was to be expected that Israel’s “greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share, and veto this resolution.” “I am compelled to respond today that the United States did, in fact, vote in accordance with our values, just as previous US administrations have done at the Security Council before us,” Kerry said. “They fail to recognise that this friend, the US, that has done more to support Israel than any other country, this friend that has blocked countless efforts to delegitimise Israel, cannot be true to our own values or even the stated democratic values of Israel. And we cannot properly defend and protect Israel if we allow a viable two-state solution to be destroyed before our own eyes. And that’s the bottom line,” he asserted. Kerry said the vote in the UN was about preserving the two-state solution and that is “what we were standing up for”. Later, US president-elect Donald Trump said Israel had been treated very unfairly. “I’m very very strong on Israel. I think that Israel has been treated very very unfairly by a lot of different people,” he said. “If you look at resolutions in the United Nation, they are up for 20 reprimands and other nations that are horrible places, horrible places that treat people horribly haven’t even been reprimanded. So there is something going on and I think it is very unfair to Israel,” Trump told reporters. In his remarks, Kerry said it is up to Israelis and Palestinians to make the difficult choices for peace and the US can provide help. “For the sake of future generations of Israelis and Palestinians, for all the people of the region, for the United States, for all those around the world who have prayed for and worked for peace for generations, let’s hope that we are all prepared, and particularly Israelis and Palestinians, to make those choices now,” he said. Israeli right dismisses Kerry speech, waits for Trump PTI/AFP Jerusalem, Dec 29: Israel’s right wing today dismissed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on the conflict with the Palestinians as a parting shot of little consequence, especially with Donald Trump soon taking office. One minister repeated his assertion that a Palestinian state will be “off the agenda” once expected ally Trump takes over, while others from what is seen as Israel’s most right-wing government ever mocked Kerry. “Palestine will be taken off the agenda,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the hardline Jewish Home party told the Ynet news site. He repeated his call for Israel to annex most of the West Bank, which would destroy any hope for a two-state solution -- long the basis of negotiations and which Kerry passionately defended yesterday. Kerry’s speech included forceful criticism of Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, warning that it was helping put the two-state solution in “serious jeopardy.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he still supports a two-state solution, but he has also described his government as Israel’s most pro-settlement, leading many analysts to question his sincerity. Religious nationalists such as Bennett who see the West Bank as part of Israel, pointing to the Jewish connection to the land from the biblical era, hold heavy sway in Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu hit back immediately following Kerry’s speech, calling it biased against Israel and more focused on settlements than Palestinian violence. He has lashed out at US President Barack Obama and Kerry in particularly harsh language, blaming them for orchestrating last week’s UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to settlement building. The United States abstained from the vote in a rare move, with the resolution passing 14-0. “Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders,” Netanyahu said last night. After Trump tweeted ahead of Kerry’s speech “Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!” Netanyahu responded with a tweet of his own. “President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support for Israel!” he wrote. While Kerry’s speech broke little new ground, it included unusually stern criticism of Israel from an American leader. “The Israeli prime minister publicly supports a two-state solution, but his current coalition is the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements,” he said. He added later that “the settler agenda is defining the future in Israel. And their stated purpose is clear: They believe in one state: greater Israel.” Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community, and Israel now describes the entire city as its “eternal capital.”