Amid ongoing Israeli outrage at last week’s UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to settlement expansion in the occupied territories, Secretary of State John Kerry has delivered a major speech strongly criticizing Israel over the settlements, warning they threaten the two-state solution
In fact, Kerry insisted that he had repeatedly warned the Netanyahu government that it’s rapid settlement expansion “invited UN action,” and defended the US abstention on the vote, saying the US saw this as a move to try to save the two-state solution from the settlements.
This has been a recurring warning internationally, and Obama Administration officials are increasingly willing to publicly discuss the issue. Many of Israel’s settlement expansion plans appear designed explicitly to divide the occupied West Bank in such a way as to make a contiguous Palestinian state impossible to establish, and are seen as a deliberate attempt to end the chances of the two-state effort succeeding.
Kerry also became the latest in a growing number of officials to note that the “one-state solution” of Israel keeping the occupied territories would oblige them to either abandon their democratic principles or their status as a “Jewish” state, as they would be absorbing a massive number of Arabs in such an annexation.
Kerry called of Israel to ensure equal rights for their Arab citizens, and insisted that Jerusalem could end up the capital of two different nations at the same time. This is likely a non-starter from Israel’s perspective, as Israeli officials have repeatedly insisted Jerusalem, including the occupied parts, are to be the “eternal and undivided” capital of Israel alone.
Israeli officials appeared to recognize the danger of continuing to needle the US over the settlements in the near-term,and postponed a vote which was planned to announce another major settlement expansion in occupied East Jerusalem, not wanting to give Kerry further talking points.
Trump to the rescue. “Stay strong Israel, Jan. 20th is fast approaching”. That after calling the Iran deal “horrible”. Can’t wait to make America great again.
Funny how they keep failing to mention Trumps little Zionist outbursts. One has to wonder why.
Kerry’s always been good for a joke.
The longstanding American tradition of serving as Israel’s stooge is over.
I doubt it. We have all of the same hacks in Congress. Same hacks in the press. Some real estate hack coming to the White house . . .
He actually made some sense for once. He still is a joke.
Not to mention, an unrepentant war criminal.
A country that will not define its borders is not a state. Its a farce. Its back to the 4 June 1967 lines.
“Kerry also became the latest in a growing number of officials to note that the “one-state solution” of Israel keeping the occupied territories would oblige them to either abandon their democratic principles or their status as a “Jewish” state, as they would be absorbing a massive number of Arabs in such an annexation.”
The latter is exactly why I prefer a one-state solution. Israel is an ethno-religious apartheid state. It’s very existence makes peace impossible. The only way to solve this problem is to do what South Africa did and create a single secular democracy with equal rights guaranteed to all by constitution.
I doubt that can happen. There will be ethnic cleansing before your single state comes into being which means all Arabs across the Jordan river into the State of Jordan. Across the Red Sea To Egypt will also be accepted. Will that sea part for them? The Palestinian Exodus ordered by Pharaoh Bibi I.
You don’t understand. The solution only begins with the overthrow of the Israeli state. Bibi’s gotta go.
Once Bibi or later governmentshave established the single state how will they then force all Arabs living in that Eretz Israel to cross the Jordan river into the state of Jordan which the settlers claim is the real Palestinian state?
Israel today is not governed by Bibi et al. in Jerusalem but by the settlers in the West Bank. Bibi could be assassinated if he abandons them now. Retribution by assassination is not unknown in Israel. What a mess!
No country in the world could getaway what Israel tolerated to get away.
Elephant in the room getting bigger by the day.
And world politicians balls replaced with vagina perhaps.
Perhaps, white elephant should be invisible so nobody would noticed. Wishful thinking.
Look at Bibi’s tie! He tries to flatter both Republicans and Democrats! However the Republican stripes are wider.
Kerry’s ninth inning speech yesterday was an insult to the Palestinians and to any people truly seeking peace.
The Obama regime has had eight years to try and get some kind of peace deal together and has done absolutely nothing!!! (except play golf and continue to fund Israel, regardless of continued settlement expansion.)
What the true purpose of Kerry’s diatribe was is hard to say but it was weak and ineffectual with no weight or purpose.
It was surreal to hear Kerry use words like: ‘occupation’, the Nakba, and Palestinian rights. These are not words we have heard from Obama in his entire eight years, in fact, I do not believe any US President has ever used the word ‘occupation’ with regard to Israel, ever before.
A buck short and an hour late.
There’s a legacy for you Obama.
Good speech by Kerry… what I don’t recall seeing ever before from a US official is acknowledgement that US interests are not identical to Israel’s, and that Israeli actions can negatively effect American security. Obvious truths, but speaking them? Wow.