The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

“[Israelis and Palestinians] have a choice. They can choose to live together in one state, or they can
separate into two states.
“Despite our best efforts over the years, the two-state solution is now in serious jeopardy … We
cannot, in good conscience, do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping
away.
“If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it won’t
ever really be at peace. ”
Kerry also took the opportunity to forcefully deny Israeli accusations that the Obama administration
had been behind the drafting of the resolution amid Israeli accusations that the US colluded with the
Palestinians .
The US, insisted Kerry, “did not draft or originate” the UN resolution, adding : “ Nor did we put it
forward [in the UN].”
“The United States did in fact vote in accordance with our values, just as previous administrations
have done,” Kerry said during the speech at the US State Department. “The vote in the United Nations
was about preserving the two-state solution. That’s what we were standing up for.”
Kerry outlined a series of principles he said should form the basis of a future peace accord between
Israel and the Palestinians, with the likely participation of the U S, including a “secure and
recognised border” between Israel and the new nation of Palestine.
He also said an agreement must help Palestinian refugees, designate Jerusalem as a capital for both
states and satisfy Israel’s security needs.
Kerry insisted that far from abandoning Israel, the Obama administration had been one of its strongest
defenders, not least in the signing of a $38bn (£31bn) defence assistance deal.
Responding to the speech, Netanyahu said in a statement: “Like the security council resolution that
Secretary Kerry advanced in the UN, his speech tonight was skewed against Israel .
Netanyahu says Kerry comments ‘skewed’ against Israel – video
“For over an hour, Kerry obsessively dealt with settlements and barely touched upon the root of the
conflict – Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries.”
This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/28/kerry-defends-usdecision-to-not-veto-un-condemnation-of-israeli-settlements
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