Kerry censures Israel for illegal settlement activity
US Secretary of State John Kerry has criticized Israel over its illegal settlement activities in the Palestinian occupied territories, calling the settlements an obstacle to a two-state solution.
"The continued settlement growth raises honest questions about Israel's long-term intentions and will only make separating from the Palestinians much more difficult," Kerry said on Saturday in a speech to the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"There are no easy answers, but we can't stop trying to find solutions that move us closer to peace," he added.
Kerry, who traveled to the Middle East region last month, also censured some Israeli cabinet ministers for rejecting a two-state solution.
In addition, the top US diplomat warned against the consequences of weakening the Palestinian Authority (PA).
He said Palestinian President Mahmoud “Abbas spoke more despairingly, my friends, than I have ever heard him about the sense of hopelessness that the Palestinian people feel.”
"Without the PA security forces, the IDF could be forced to deploy tens of thousands of soldiers to the West Bank indefinitely to fill the void," Kerry said.
"Are Israelis prepared for the consequences this would have for their children and grandchildren who serve in the IDF when the inevitable friction leads to confrontation and violence?"
Kerry called on Palestinians and Israelis to deescalate the situation and show a genuine commitment to peace.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build 454 more settlement units on the occupied Palestinian land.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlement colonies built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
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