Israel Genuinely Seeking Peace With Palestine
In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underlined his country’s desire to seek peace with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Netanyahu states that several months ago, with the help of Secretary Kerry, they launched an initiative to seek a peaceful agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
“I want peace with the Palestinians; Israel wants peace with the Palestinians.” – Prime Minister Netanyahu
Israel Stands By The Terms Of The Agreement
Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel and Palestine agreed three months ago on certain terms and stands by those terms as well.
“We abide scrupulously by the terms of the agreement and the understanding on which we launched the negotiations.” – Prime Minister Netanyahu
In addition, Prime Minister Netanyahu stresses his concern about their progress because he sees the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace.
He hopes Secretary Kerry’s visit in Israel will help steer the two parties back to a place where they could achieve the historical peace that the two countries seek and that their people deserve.
Through a US-mediated initiative to end the conflict between the two parties, Israel and Palestine held their first peace negotiations in nearly three years in Washington DC on July 30.
US On Israel-Palestine Peace Agreement
Secretary Kerry stresses the difficulties and tensions of the issue of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, three months into the negotiation.
“There are always difficulties, always tensions.” – Secretary Kerry
However, Secretary Kerry stresses that he is confident of their ability to work through them.
“So I hope that we will continue in the good faith that brought the parties together in the first place that this can be achieved.” – Secretary Kerry
He says that with good faith, with a serious effort on both sides to make real compromises and hard decisions, the aims of the negotiation will be achieved.
In addition, Secretary Kerry emphasizes that Israel deserves security, deserves to live in peace.
“Also, the Palestinians deserve a state and deserve to live in peace, and that is what we are working towards.” – Secretary Kerry
The United States is seeking to broker an agreement on a two-state solution. The US asserts the solution would allow Israel to exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
On Iran
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary Kerry also addressed the issue about Iran’s nuclear proliferation campaign in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Prime Minister said as long as Iran continues their goal to enrich uranium to get nuclear weapons, the pressure should be maintained and even increased because they’re increasing enrichment.
He believes that it’s possible, with intense pressure because of the sanctions regime, led in large part by the United States, to get Iran to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
“And that’s really what we’re seeking, a full, peaceful, complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear weapons capability, end of all enrichment, end of all centrifuges, end of the plutonium reactor.” – Prime Minister Netanyahu
Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza in the Six-Day War in 1967, but annexed the city as its united capital in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future State.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since late September last year following Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity. That decision prompted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Although the US and many others lay the blame for all peace failures on Israel, the Palestinians continue their own agenda unabated.
Fatah, the party of Mahmoud Abbas, now uses social media to glorify terrorists, posting “They are our role models,” on facebook. They praise murderers as symbols of their nation. No mention of this is ever made by Secretary Kerry, or Secretary Clinton before him. Yet Secretary Kerry asks for good faith and a serious effort on both sides.
