*In parting shot at
Israel, Kerry warns Middle East peace in jeopardy
U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry on Wednesday said Israel's building of settlements on occupied
land was jeopardizing Middle East peace, voicing unusually frank
frustration
with America's longtime ally weeks before he is due to leave office.
In a swiftly issued
statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Kerry of bias. He
said Israel did not need to be lectured to by foreign leaders and looked
forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to pursue
more pro-Israeli policies.
In a 70-minute
speech, Kerry said Israel "will never have true peace" with the Arab
world if it does not reach an accord based on Israelis and Palestinians living
in their own states.
Kerry's remarks, and
Netanyahu's reply, marked the closing chapter of a bitter U.S.-Israeli
relationship during President Barack Obama's administration over differences on
settlement-building and the Iran nuclear deal signed last year.
Ties reached a low
point last Friday when Washington cleared the way for a U.N. resolution that
demanded an end to Israeli settlement building, prompting Israeli government
officials to direct harsh attacks against Obama and Kerry.
"Despite our
best efforts over the years, the two-state solution is now in serious
jeopardy," Kerry said at the State Department. "We cannot, in good
conscience, do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping
away."
The United States
had appealed to Israel in public and private to stop the march of settlements
countless times, Kerry said.
"In the end, we
could not in good conscience protect the most extreme elements of the settler movement
as it tries to destroy the two-state solution," he said. "We could
not in good conscience turn a blind eye to Palestinian actions that fan hatred
and violence. It is not in U.S. interests to help anyone on either side create
a unitary state."
His parting words
were unlikely to change anything on the ground between Israel and the
Palestinians or salvage the Obama administration's record of failed Middle East
peace efforts.
Netanyahu said Kerry
"obsessively dealt with settlements" and barely touched on "the
root of the conflict - Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any
boundaries".
In a statement,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was convinced peace with Israel was
achievable, but stood by his demand that Israel halt settlements before talks
restart.
Netanyahu, for whom
settlers are a key constituency, has said his government has been their
greatest ally since Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a 1967
war. Some 570,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,
together home to more than 2.6 million Palestinians.
POST-OBAMA ERA
Israel expects to
receive more favorable treatment from Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20. But
Israelis fear Kerry's remarks will put them on the defensive, prompting other
countries to apply pressure, including by adding fuel to the boycott,
divestiture and sanctions movement against Israel, especially in Europe.
Trump denounced the
Obama administration's treatment of Israel before Kerry's speech.
"We cannot
continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They
used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore," Trump said in a
series of tweets. "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast
approaching!"
Trump has vowed to
move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would upset many
countries, and has appointed as ambassador a lawyer who raised money for a
major Jewish settlement.
Kerry's speech
provided some insights into an issue that he personally feels passionate about
and had hoped to resolve during his nearly four years as secretary of state.
Peace talks have been stalled since 2014.
The United States
abstained rather than veto the Dec. 23 U.N. resolution, in what many saw as a
parting shot by Obama.
Kerry vigorously
defended the resolution. “It is not this resolution that is isolating Israel.
It is the permanent policy of settlement construction that risks making peace
impossible."
In a pointed reply
to Netanyahu who said last week that "Friends don't take friends to the
Security Council", and who has insisted the Obama administration had
orchestrated the resolution, Kerry hit back, saying: "Friends need to tell
each other the hard truths, and friendships require mutual respect."
Kerry defended
Obama's commitment to Israel's security and U.S. support for Israel in
international platforms. Earlier this year, the United States and Israel agreed
$38 billion in military assistance over the next decade.
In Jerusalem on
Wednesday, Israel approved construction of a multistory building for settlers
in annexed East Jerusalem, an NGO said, after postponing authorization of
hundreds of other homes.
Washington considers
the settlement activity illegitimate and most countries view it as an obstacle
to peace. Israel cites a biblical, historical and political connection to the
land - which the Palestinians also claim - as well as security interests.
PARAMETERS FOR PEACE
DEAL
Emphasizing that
Washington could not impose an outcome, Kerry outlined principles for a
two-state solution which envisioned secure and recognized international borders
between Israel and a viable and contiguous Palestine - based on the 1967 lines
before it seized the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. The two sides would
agree to land swaps.
Netanyahu has
described the 1967 lines as indefensible and has said Israel would never return
to them.
Kerry also called
for an agreed resolution for Jerusalem as the "internationally recognized
capital of the two states."
Kerry's speech drew
praise from pro-liberal U.S. Jewish group J Street but was rejected by AIPAC,
an influential pro-Israel lobby group, which called the speech "a failed
attempt to defend the indefensible".
“We salute the
clear, courageous and committed speech of John Kerry in favor of peace in the
Middle East and the solution for the two States, Israel and Palestine,” French
Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.
France will convene
some 70 countries on Jan. 15 for a Middle East peace conference in Paris.
Kerry’s proposals
did not depart from longstanding U.S. views on the building blocks of a future
deal, and echoed elements of a speech former President Bill Clinton gave in
2001 as he prepared to hand over power to George W. Bush.
But back then
"the parties were closer, and the United States and Israel were not at
such sharp odds," said David Makovsky, a former senior adviser at the
State Department on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
REUTERS
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