Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back at Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, claiming it was unfairly biased against Israel.
Kerry’s speech was unfairly “skewed against Israel,” said Netanyahu in a statement shortly after the outgoing secretary of state delivered his remarks Wednesday. The Prime Minister noted the speech “obsessively dealt with settlements” yet barely acknowledged on “the root of the conflict — Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries.”
Kerry’s speech acknowledged the ongoing violence perpetrated by Palestinians against Israelis, and also called for an end to incitement by Palestinian leaders, but focused heavily on the settlement issue.
“We have to be clear about what is happening in the West Bank,” said Kerry before accusing Israeli settlers of exacerbating the conflict. He also accused Netanyahu’s government of adding to the problem by engaging in pro-settlement policies.
“I think that the decisions that are vital to Israel’s interests, the future of its children, they wont be made through speeches in Washington, or votes in the United Nations, or conferences in Paris,” said Netanyahu. “They will be made by the government of Israel around the negotiating table. Making them on behalf of the one and only Jewish state, a sovereign nation that is the master of its own fate.”
Israel PM Netanyahu says his country cannot make peace with Palestinians who reject Israel’s right to exist https://t.co/8GDg3LTC4M
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 28, 2016
Netanyahu said his vision is one of “coexistence” with a future Palestinian state which is prevented by the Palestinians’ continued rejection of Israel’s right to exist. He explained that this is the reason why his “hundreds” of requests for negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have gone unanswered.
“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,” added the Prime Minister. “And I can only express my regret, and say that it’s a shame that Secretary Kerry does not see this simple truth.”
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