Kerry's statement on Israel The Morning Star, London, 7 December 2015 US Secretary of State John Kerry Mr Kerry has cautioned against calls from some Israeli politicians to let the Palestinian Authority wither, calling them counterproductive and self-defeating for Israel. He told the Saban Forum in Washington that "the truth is that many of those arguing against the PA simply don't believe in two states. "How does Israel possibly maintain its character as a Jewish and democratic state when, from the river to the sea, there would not even be a Jewish majority?" he asked. "Would millions of Palestinians be given basic rights of Israeli citizens, including the right to vote? Or would they be relegated to a permanent underclass?" If it were to happen, Israel would be forced to assume all governance in the occupied West Bank, he said. Not viable "The one-state solution is no solution at all for a secure, Jewish, democratic Israel living in peace. It is simply not a viable option." He called on Mr Netanyahu to stick to his commitment to a two-state solution - which, in fact, he disavowed during Israel's general election - and to engage in dialogue with the Palestinians. "It is important that it doesn't become a slogan, a throw-away phrase, that it becomes a policy, which is what it is meant to be," said the secretary of state. Mr Kerry, who held meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and Jerusalem on November 24, criticised the continued expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, noting that Palestinians were subject to a total ban on construction activity in some parts of their Israeli-occupied territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded yesterday by blaming the Palestinian leadership. Mr Netanyahu also condemned comments by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, describing her charge that Israel carries out extrajudicial killings and uses disproportionate force against Palestinians as "scandalous." From: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-43fc-Israel-Netanyahu-rejects-warning-a gainst-one-state-solution#.VmUDerh9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
