Kerry Promises an Occupation-Free Palestine State

Netanyahu: No Israelis Can Ever Be Uprooted

Speaking today at Davos, Secretary of State John Kerry promised to see the finalization of a peace deal to establish an independent Palestinian state with no Israeli troops occupying it at all.

Kerry didn’t give any indication where that was, but said Israel would obviously never accept the deal “until they know the West Bank will not become another Gaza.”

And probably not even then, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed this up with a promise of his own not to uproot a single Israel from anywhere in the occupied West Bank, meaning the territory left for a Palestinian state is miniscule and decidedly non-contiguous.

Netanyahu’s comments came at a press conference, where he sought to reassure hawks that Kerry is not really pushing them to sign a framework agreement, and is just there to “put forth ideas.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.