He said he was dispatched to Israel and the West Bank by President Barack Obama to try to restore calm as well as public confidence in the viability of a two- state solution.
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Boston: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said Israeli and Palestinian leaders have reached a pivotal point and it was now up to them to make important decisions that will lead to lasting peace.
He met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah for what he described as “a long and very constructive and serious conversation”. He was welcomed by top Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) official Saeb Erakat at Abbas’ presidential headquarters.
Kerry’s visit was aimed at deescalating the violence, but there is little support from either the Palestinian or Israeli side to resume negotiations, which broke down more than 18 months ago.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Jerusalem today for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to ease weeks of bloodshed, but hopes for a breakthrough are faint a day after four people were killed. The Palestinian sped up as he turned toward the checkpoint, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. But he made no mention of reviving peace talks.
The source recounted that he had held exploratory talks in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials about a future role for the Egyptian army in the Palestinian security strategy, both in the West Bank and in Gaza.
Netanyahu told Kerry that Israel would fight “every hour” against those committing and inciting violence, linking his government’s efforts to the global campaign against the Islamic State group and other extremist forces. There can be no peace when we have an onslaught of terror-not here or not anywhere else in the world, which is experiencing this same assault by militant Islamists and the forces of terror.
Violence since October 1 has left 92 Palestinians dead, including one Arab Israeli, as well as 17 Israelis – including the two Israeli-Americans – one American and an Eritrean. In Washington, the State Department quickly rejected any suggestion the USA would alter its longstanding opposition to settlements or recognize them as legitimate outside of a peace agreement.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that a Palestinian man came out of his vehicle armed with a knife and stabbed the soldier.
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Ibrahim Dawoud, 16, was the latest Palestinian fatality announced. At least 92 Palestinians have died, including 58 said by Israel to be attackers.
