BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, to discuss the current violence and ways to calm tensions.

It was Kerry’s first visit to Israel since summer 2014, having previously spearheaded a round of peace talks. At the start of the meeting, Kerry said, “I am here today to talk with the prime minister about ways how we can work together — all of us, the international community — to push back against terrorism… and to find a way forward to restore calm.”

Kerry condemned the wave of attacks, which have killed 21 Israelis since the start of October, saying “Clearly, no people anywhere should live with daily violence.” He reiterated that, “Israel has every right in the world to defend itself. It has an obligation to defend itself. And it will and it is.”

Netanyahu also addressed the violence, saying, “There can be no peace when we have an onslaught of terror,” adding that “Israel is fighting these forces every hour.” Placing the violence in context, he said, “It’s not only our battle; it’s everyone’s battle. It’s the battle of civilization against barbarism.”

Media reports suggest Netanyahu told Kerry that any measures which would boost PA rule in the West Bank conditional upon a reduction in violence. Haaretz quotes an unnamed senior Israeli official, who said “The first condition for changing the security and economic conditions on the ground is restoring the quiet.” AFP reports that Netanyahu also contended that permission for Palestinian West Bank construction would require international recognition of Israeli construction in major settlement blocs, such as Gush Etzion and Ariel, which many assume will remain under Israeli sovereignty in any peace deal.

Kerry also met yesterday with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin and opposition leader Isaac Herzog. He then travelled to Ramallah to meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas, stressing, “We are committed to that two states with two peoples living side by side.”