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Kerry reiterates support for Israel amid Jerusalem housing criticism
US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday underscored his support for Israel during a week in which he has been criticised by some Israeli leaders.
After Kerry had intimated at a security conference last weekend that campaigns to boycott Israel would gain traction if current peace talks failed, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz called Kerry’s comments “offensive and unacceptable” while Economy Minister and Jewish Home head Naftali Bennett was also sharply critical of Kerry. However, during an interview yesterday with CNN, Kerry appeared to brush off the criticism, saying he has been “attacked before by people using real bullets [in Vietnam], not words, and I am not going to be intimidated” in his “commitment to try to find peace in the Middle East.”
Kerry also commented, “I also have always opposed boycotts. I have a 100 percent voting record in support of Israel for 29 years in the United States Senate.” He stated his belief that “the majority of the people in Israel, the majority of the Palestinians … believe in peace and want peace.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads Israel’s negotiating team, told Israel Radio yesterday that the verbal attacks by ministerial colleagues on Kerry were “shocking.”
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Municipality’s Committee for Planning and Building yesterday announced that it had given permission for 558 housing units to be built in the neighbourhoods of Har Homa, Pisgat Ze’ev and Neveh Ya’akov, which are situated beyond Israel’s pre-1967 border. All are considered areas which are likely to remain under Israeli control under any potential peace agreement. Yesterday’s decision is just one of several planning and approval stages before construction might actually begin. However, US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki commented, “We oppose any unilateral actions by either party that attempt to prejudge final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem.”
Also yesterday, Israeli security forces destroyed several buildings comprising the Geulat Tzion settlement outpost in the West Bank. NRG reported that subsequent small-scale clashes erupted between police and settlers.