The top U.S. diplomat’s anticipated speech is called ‘a pathetic step’ by a senior Israeli Cabinet minister, while an angry Donald Trump urges Israel to ‘stay strong.’
By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL and NAHAL TOOSI 12/28/16 10:38 AM EST
Secretary of State John Kerry will lay out his vision Wednesday for the future of Israeli-Palestinian peace as his time atop the State Department winds down.
Kerry’s speech will be a largely symbolic attempt at breathing life into a peace process under severe strain, compounded in recent days by the U.S.’s abstention during a United Nations Security Council resolution vote last week condemning settlement construction in land claimed by Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
President-elect Donald Trump, a bipartisan group of congressional Republicans and Democrats and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the U.S. to veto the resolution — to no avail.
The State Department has characterized the fierce outcry as a “sideshow” and defended the U.S.’s decision to abstain.
“I think this is all a little bit of a sideshow, to be honest, that this was a resolution that we could not in good conscience veto because it condemns violence, it condemned incitement, it reiterates what has long been the overwhelming consensus international view on settlements, and it calls for the parties to take constructive steps to advance a two-state solution on the ground,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Tuesday. “There was nothing in there that would prompt us to veto that type of resolution.”
In a pair of tweets Wednesday morning, Trump suggested the Obama administration has treated Israel “with such total disdain and disrespect.”
“They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore,” he wrote. “The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!”
White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price has also denied allegations that Kerry and national security adviser Susan Rice met with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat earlier this month to set up a backroom deal.
Kerry is expected to defend the U.S.’s position but also speak more broadly about the end of his term. But the anticipated speech has not gone over well in Israel.
“This step is a pathetic step,” Gilad Erdan, a senior Israeli Cabinet minister, told an Israeli radio station Wednesday morning. “It is an anti-democratic step because it's clear that the administration and Kerry's intention is to chain President-elect Trump.”
Kerry has been dogged in his attempts to get the Israelis and Palestinians to come together, but like many before him he’ll be leaving office having failed to achieve much. And although he’s likely to lay out some sort of parameters for a peace deal, it’s highly unlikely to become reality anytime soon.
Trump has promised to be pro-Israel during his administration, to the dismay of Palestinians. He has named David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer with hard-right views on Israel, as his envoy to Israel. Friedman has downplayed the potential for achieving a two-state solution and wants to move the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
After the U.N. vote, Netanyahu told his Cabinet that his message to Kerry was “friends don’t take friends to the Security Council” and that he looks forward to working with the Trump administration.
politico.com
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