Things have really sped up for the Mideast Peace Train in the last 36 hours. John Kerry, the US SoS, visited Israel to talk to PM Netanyahu, on the unscheduled way to Geneva to finalize the first stages of an Iranian accord with the P5+1. While in Israel he gave an interview to reporters from Israeli TV Channel 2 and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corp. His forthright words sent a shockwave through the Ziosphere.
Some straight talk from Kerry…
Kerry: Why do you want to build in what will eventually be Palestine?
US Secretary of State John Kerry launched an unusually pointed public attack on Israeli policies in the West Bank Thursday, calling settlements “illegitimate” and warning that if current peace talks fail, Israel could face a third intifada and growing international isolation. Kerry made the comments during a joint interview with Israel’s Channel 2 and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I know there’s cynicism. I know so many people don’t believe anything I just said… And I know there are people who have grown used to this,” Kerry said, referring to the current relatively peaceful stalemate in Israeli-Palestinian relations. And particularly in Israel. Israel says, `Oh we feel safe today. We have the wall, we’re not in a day-to-day conflict, we’re doing pretty well economically.’
“Well, I’ve got news for you,” he said, referring to the Israeli public. “Today’s status quo will not be tomorrow’s or next year’s. Because if we don’t resolve this issue, the Arab world, the Palestinians, neighbors, others, are going to begin again to push in a different way.”
Some Israeli pundit response….
Frustrated Kerry’s Peace Critique A Heavy Slap In Netanyahu’s Face
A patently bitter secretary of state asks why Israel keeps taking Palestinian land, and why the Israeli public doesn’t seem to care about it.
For the first time since he managed to restart the talks in July, Kerry dropped his statesman-like public impartiality, and clearly spoke from the heart — and what emerged were a series of accusations that amounted to a forceful slap in the face for Netanyahu. It was a rhetorical onslaught that the prime minister cannot have expected and one he will not quickly forget.
For Netanyahu, watching Kerry’s from-the-heart interview must have topped what was already a pretty lousy day. In Geneva, the six world powers were inching toward a deal with the Iranians that the prime minister fears would leave Tehran with an enrichment capability even as the sanctions are eased — something Netanyahu considers a “historic error.”
More Israeli media response…..
Kerry Slams Israel’s West Bank Policies, Warns Of 3rd Intifada
Turning to settlements and Israel’s presence in the West Bank, he added: “If we do not resolve the question of settlements, and the question of who lives where and how and what rights they have; if we don’t end the presence of Israeli soldiers perpetually within the West Bank, then there will be an increasing feeling that if we cannot get peace with a leadership that is committed to non-violence, you may wind up with leadership that is committed to violence.”
He also said ongoing settlement construction risked creating the sense that Israel was not “serious” about wanting a permanent accord. The US, he stressed, considers “settlements are illegitimate” and believes that “the entire peace process would be easier if these settlements were not taking place.
So how does all this sit with Netanyahu? He gave a short youtube video response here, in which he said… (My bold)
“I understand the Iranians are walking around very satisfied in Geneva — as well they should because they got everything and paid nothing, everything they wanted. They wanted relief of sanctions after years of grueling sanction regime, they got that. They paid nothing because they are not reducing in any way their nuclear enrichment capability. So Iran got the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal.
LOL, those Iranians are better Jews than we are! (snark) Wingnut tears, so sweet. (If they don’t go all Samson on our asses!)
