WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry is blasting Israel for expanding its settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
In a farewell speech at the State Department, Kerry accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging Israel away from democracy. He warned that Israel’s continued construction of settlements is undermining hopes for the establishment of a two-state solution, or a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Kerry defended the U.S. decision last week to allow the U.N. Security Council to declare Israeli settlements illegal, while rejecting the notion that America has abandoned Israel. He said the United States “did not draft or originate” the UN resolution condemning the settlements, “nor did we put it forward” in the UN.
Kerry also outlined a series of principles he said could form the basis of a future peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, with the likely participation of the United States.
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister called Kerry’s Mideast policy speech a “great disappointment.”
In a live broadcast on Israeli TV Wednesday after Kerry’s speech, Netanyahu criticized Kerry for the speech highly critical of Israel at a time when he said the region is “going up in flames.” He faulted Kerry for obsessing over settlements while paying mere “lip service” to terrorism and incitement of violence by Palestinians.
Netanyahu said, “For a full hour, the secretary of state attacked the only democracy in the Middle East.” And he said, “Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders.”
However, the speech had a more positive effect on the Palestinians.
The Palestinian president said afterwards that he is ready to resume peace talks with Israel if it halts settlement construction.
In his first response to Kerry’s Mideast policy speech, President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he is ready to resume talks “within a specific time frame and on the basis of international law.” He said that would include a reference to the U.N. Security Council resolution passed last week, over Israel’s objections, that declared settlement construction illegal.
Abbas’ comments reiterated longstanding Palestinian positions and did not address the six principles for peace Kerry outlined in his speech.
The Palestinians object to calls to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jews, saying it would undermine the rights of Israel’s Arab minority and the claims of Palestinian refugees whose families lost properties in what is now Israel.
Back in the United States, reaction has been mixed.
President-elect Donald Trump says Israel is being treated “very, very unfairly,” maintaining that countries that are “horrible places” never get reprimanded.
Trump talked to reporters Wednesday in what became his longest question-and-answer session since the election.
He refused to directly answer a question about whether Israel should stop building settlements, saying he is “very, very strong on Israel.”
Trump says Israel is “up for 20 reprimands” at the United Nations, whereas nations that are “horrible places, that treat people horribly, haven’t even been reprimanded.”
Trump tweeted earlier Wednesday that Israel should “stay strong,” saying Jan. 20, inauguration day, “is fast approaching!”
Democratic lawmakers offered mixed reactions to Kerry’s speech.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York says his former Senate colleague “seems to have forgotten the history off settlements in Gaza” and warns Kerry’s speech may have “emboldened extremists on both sides.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, says Kerry reaffirmed America’s commitment to Israel. But she also says she opposes U.N. efforts, a reference to the Obama administration’s decision on the resolution.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer is also avoiding direct criticism of Kerry. But he says the resolution “will not bring peace closer.”
All three Democrats are members of congressional leadership.
Connecticut’s senators also spoke out.
Sen. Chris Murphy was tempered in his response, saying, “We’ve gotta be a friend first and foremost of Israel, but we’ve got to be in a position to bring the two sides together. The Obama administration lately has not been in that position and it doesn’t look like the Trump administration is going to be in that position either and that should worry everybody on both sides.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, meanwhile, said, “While I respect the administration’s steadfast efforts to seek successful negotiations aimed at a two-state solution, I continue to be deeply disturbed and disappointed by its recent UN Security Council abstention. Secretary Kerry’s speech failed to dispel my strong concerns…Kerry’s address today was remarkably remiss in recognizing Israel’s record of seeking peace and did nothing to advance it. Support for Israel must remain bipartisan.”
