Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israel on Saturday about the dangers of the possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority, saying it would lead to a situation that would threaten the security of Israel and the Palestinian people.
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Kerry said Israel’s continued construction of settlements in disputed areas, and the lack of building permits granted to Palestinians, raise concerns among them about Israel’s long-term plans.
“The one-state solution is no solution at all”, Kerry said, according to the Brookings Institution, which hosted the event. Kerry posed the question: “If there is a risk the Palestinian Authority might collapse and Israel wants it to survive, shouldn’t Israel do more to help sustain it?” the Israeli newspaper Hareetz reported.
Alluding to a the position lately adopted by the Palestinian activist left and the Israeli right, in which a Jewish-majority State-of Israel would annex the West Bank, Kerry said “the one-state solution is no solution at all for a secure, Jewish, democratic Israel living in peace, it is simply not a viable option”.
He added that the level of distrust between the two sides “has never been more profound”, calling for an end to the violence before it worsens yet again. Kerry urged leaders on both sides to recommit to a two-state solution.
Two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli soldier in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron overnight, moderately wounding him before they were shot dead by soldiers, the army said early Friday. He cited troubling school textbooks, maps, speeches and media reports that have to be revised. “That’s the problem today”. Most of the attackers in the recent violence have been young Palestinians, including teenagers.
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U.S. Secretary of State spoke of the halt in diplomatic contacts between Israelis and Palestinians on Saturday during the annual Saban Forum in Washington, where officials from both countries discuss the U.S.-Israeli relations and burning topics.
