Kerry: Palestinians Need to Curb Rhetoric, Israel Needs to Work with Palestinians

Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry admonished that the flare-up in violence between Israelis and Palestinians over the past month is a look into what the situation would be “if two peoples were to share one-state.” Calling the present situation “unsustainable,” Kerry said the Israelis need to “support Palestinians they can work with,” while the Palestinians need to end their incitement to violence “and take into consideration Israel’s security needs.” The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying that the government has informed New Zealand officials that Jerusalem rejects its draft United Nations Security Council resolution it has circulated in an effort to end the current spate of violence. The document calls on Israel to halt construction in Jewish communities located in the West Bank and to put an end to the demolition of homes of terrorists. It calls on the Palestinian Authority to halt its efforts to bring war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas repeated his demand for “international protection for the Palestinian people” in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. He made a similar plea to SecState Kerry in Amman on Saturday.