BICOM

The US Secretary of State delivered a lengthy speech yesterday where he warned that the two-state solution is in danger, criticising Israeli government policy in unusually harsh terms and setting out six principles for final status negotiations.

John Kerry emphasised that “no administration has done more for Israel’s security that Barack Obama’s,” but that “friends need to tell each other the hard truths”.

Explaining his critique, Kerry said: “The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. It is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. That future is now in jeopardy.”

Kerry noted that “the Israeli Prime Minister publicly supports a two-state solution, but his current coalition is the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by its most extreme elements,” adding that “the settler agenda is defining the future in Israel. And their stated purpose is clear: They believe in one state: greater Israel”.

Kerry warned that current Israeli policies “are leading towards one state”.

Kerry also criticised continuing Palestinian violence, saying that a “sense of hopelessness among Israelis is exacerbated by the continuing violence, terrorist attacks against civilians and incitement – which are destroying belief in the possibility of peace”.

He also emphasised that “we have repeatedly and emphatically stressed to the Palestinians that all incitement to violence must stop”.

The outgoing Secretary of State set out six principles which he said “provide a possible basis for serious negotiations when the parties are ready”.

They include secure and recognised borders, acceptance of two states for two peoples including “recognition of Israel as a Jewish state,” which the Palestinian leadership has long rejected, plus a “just” and “realistic solution to the Palestinian refugee issue”. He also said that there must be normalised relations, that Israel’s security needs must be met and that Jerusalem should be the capital of two states, although “most acknowledge that Jerusalem should not be divided again”.