Abbas says peace with Israel achievable; demands settlement freeze
From personal attacks on John Kerry to a suggestion to divide Washington to a promise to demand to declare Israeli sovereignty over a large West Bank settlement, official Israel responded angrily to John Kerry’s long-awaited Mideast speech. Palestinians, in contrast, welcomed the speech, but fear that it will have little effect, given that Kerry leaves office in three weeks.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded soon after Kerry’s speech, which called on both Israel and the Palestinians to take a series of steps. He called on Israel to immediately freeze settlement construction, and Palestinians to end violence and incitement.
Netanyahu quickly responded, calling the speech a “big disappointment.”
“For a full hour, the secretary of state attacked the only democracy in the Middle East, that preserves the stability in the Middle East, not only for our citizens – Jews and Arabs alike – but also contributes to the stability and security in our region, and for many many of our neighbors.”
Some in Netanyahu’s government, like hardline Education Minister Naftali Bennett, repeated his call to declare sovereignty over Maalei Adumim, where more than 30,000 Israelis live just a few miles east of Jerusalem. Bennet said that Kerry’s speech will not matter once President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. In an interview with Ynet News he said on that date “Palestine will be taken off the agenda.”
“The Israeli government will advance a program of sovereignty over Ma’ale Adumim for a start” and promised that he would advance an agenda to ensure that Israeli law also apply to “the Jordan Valley, Ariel and Ofra where there are half a million Jews and 70,000 Arabs. In the rest of the territory there will be Palestinian separate autonomy where there is around 1.2 million Arabs and not even a single Jew.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly said that any Israeli decision to annex any part of the West Bank, would be unacceptable from their part. Kerry’s speech follows a UN Security Council Resolution, which the US abstained on, therefore allowing it to pass, which condemned Israel for settlement construction.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the speech could lead to a new Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process under certain conditions. There have been virtually no substantive talks in almost five years.
“The minute the Israeli government agrees to cease all settlement activities, including in and around Occupied East Jerusalem, and agrees to implement the signed agreements on the basis of mutual reciprocity, the Palestinian leadership stands ready to resume permanent status negotiations on the basis of international law and relevant international legality resolutions, including UNSC 2334, under a specified timeframe,” Abbas said in a statement conveyed by PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat.
Some Israeli analysts charged Kerry with exaggeration.
“Kerry talked about settlements deep outside the (1967) border and people think the area is like the Ponderosa,” columnist Amiel Ungar told The Media Line. “I’m living in one of these “deep” settlements, and it takes me ten minutes to drive to Jerusalem.”
The big question is whether the speech will have any policy implications. Even before the speech, President-elect Donald Trump told Israel to “stay strong. The 20th of January is fast approaching.” Trump’s pick for Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is a strong supporter of the settlements.
Some Israelis and Palestinians said that’s exactly why Kerry made the speech now. It is an attempt by the Obama Administration to leave parameters that will become the standard for any future US Middle East peace push. Palestinians say they continue to demand an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, the traditional two-state solution.
“Although support for a two-state solution has declined, if Palestinians believed there was a real chance for it, that support would rebound,” Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki told The Media Line.