Israel's defence minister has lashed at US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying a security plan he presented is "not worth the paper it was written on," an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday.
"The American plan for security arrangements that was shown to us... provides neither security nor peace," Moshe Yaalon was quoted by Yediot Aharonot as saying.
The plan "isn't worth the paper it was written on," Yaalon reportedly said in private conversations with Israeli officials, accusing Kerry of being naive and implying that he is a nuisance.
Kerry has tried to push Israelis and Palestinians towards an elusive peace deal after decades of conflict, shuttling back and forth in 10 visits to the region since March.
His proposals include a security plan for the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank borders Jordan, including the use of satellite technology to monitor the situation on the ground, local media say.
- Israel insists on maintaining a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley, but the Palestinians reject that, instead urging deployment of an international force.
"I live and breathe the conflict with the Palestinians; I know what they think, what they want and what they are really planning," he said.
"Secretary of State John Kerry?who arrived here determined, and who operates from an incomprehensible obsession and a sense of messianism?can?t teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians.?
"The only thing that might save us is if John Kerry wins the Nobel Prize and leaves us be," he added.
Kerry was reported by Yediot as saying the security plan would make Israel's eastern border "the quietest in the world, more than the border between Canada and the United States.?
Peace talks, which Kerry kick-started in July after a three-year hiatus, have been shrouded in secrecy thanks to a US-imposed media blackout.
http://www.france24.com/en/20140114-israel-defence-minister-lambasts-kerry-over-security-plan/
14/1/14
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Related:
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- Netanyahu rejects inclusion of Jerusalem in Kerry's framework deal....
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Netanyahu reprimands Ya’alon: ‘We must respect relations with US’....
ReplyDeleteDefense minister dials down previous criticism of Kerry, but doesn’t deny report that he called US secretary ‘obsessive, messianic’ over peace deal.
“Even when we have disagreements with the United States, they are always substantive and not ad hominem,” Netanyahu said in a speech to the Knesset marking its 65th birthday on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are working to advance regional security and defend our interests. True peace is founded on recognition of the nation state of the Jewish people and on security arrangements that will promise that territories in Palestinian hands do not turn into launching pads for terrorists — but all that [must be achieved] while respecting our important ties to the United States. We continue to defend our national interests, one of which is the continued fostering of our relations with our ally, the United States,” Netanyahu said.
Ya’alon had lashed into Kerry and savaged US-led peace talks in private conversations, according to a Tuesday report in a major Israeli daily.
The unsourced report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, which was not contradicted by Ya’alon or his spokespeople on Tuesday, recounts the defense minister lambasting the proposed security arrangement drawn up by Kerry as part of his peace deal as being “not worth the paper it is printed on” and as a plan that won’t provide security for Israel.
The report also quoted Ya’alon calling Kerry “inexplicably obsessive” and “messianic” in his efforts to coax the two sides into a peace agreement. Ya’alon said Kerry has “nothing to teach me about the conflict with the Palestinians. All that can ‘save us’ is for John Kerry to win a Nobel Prize and leave us in peace,” the paper quoted him saying.
Ya’alon tried to walk back his criticism later Tuesday, but continued to warn of the dangers of an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank........http://www.timesofisrael.com/yaalon-dials-down-criticism-of-kerry-warns-of-hamastan/#ixzz2qOC5w61K
14/1/14
US, Israel in spat over Kerry's 'boycott' remarks...
ReplyDeleteIsraeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have slammed remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel faced a higher risk of boycott if the peace process with Palestinians failed.
The U.S. State Department on Sunday responded harshly to criticism from senior Israeli officials over Secretary of State John Kerry's implications that Israel would face increased boycotts should peace talks fail.
"Secretary Kerry has a proud record of over three decades of steadfast support for Israel's security and well-being, including staunch opposition to boycotts," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
"Just last year, while briefing Foreign Ministers at an EU conference in Vilnius on his peacemaking efforts, he urged them to refrain from implementing these types of measures," Psaki said.
Kerry, at a Munich security forum on Saturday, mentioned "talk of boycotts" if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not end.
"Are we all going to be better with all of that?" asked Kerry, who is seeking to seal a framework agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
"For Israel, the stakes are also enormously high," he said. "Do they want a failure that then begs whatever may come in the form of a response from disappointed Palestinians and the Arab community?"
Kerry's remarks elicited strong reactions from senior Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, among others.
Netanyahu on Sunday rejected Kerry's warnings regarding the danger of the boycott movement gaining strength against Israel.
"The attempts to boycott Israel are unethical and unjustified," Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. "Moreover, they won't achieve their goal."
The State Department's Psaki, however, defended Kerry's comments from Saturday, saying, "He spoke forcefully in defense of Israel's interests, as he consistently has throughout his public life.".................http://www.france24.com/en/20140202-us-israel-kerry-boycott-munich-netanyahu/
2/2/14
Ya’alon: Israel ‘will manage’ without a peace deal....Defiant defense minister insists conflict isn’t about land, but rather a Palestinian reluctance to recognize Israel as Jewish....
ReplyDeleteHis statements came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that failure to reach an agreement in the allotted time frame would precipitate unprecedented economic and diplomatic pressure on Israel.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Ya’alon asserted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not about territory, but rather hinged on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and its right to exist in peace after a deal is reached............http://www.timesofisrael.com/yaalon-israel-will-manage-without-a-peace-deal/#ixzz2sBgMrXz1
2/2/14