Britain, edging towards Trump, scolds
Kerry over Israel
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[December 30, 2016]
By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain scolded U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry for describing the Israeli government as
the most right-wing in Israeli history, a move that aligns Prime
Minister Theresa May more closely with President-elect Donald Trump.
After U.S. President Barack Obama enraged Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu by refusing to veto a UN Security Council resolution
demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Kerry's public rebuke
of Israel has unsettled some allies such as Britain.
Amid one of the United States' sharpest confrontations with Israel since
the 1956 Suez crisis, Kerry said in a speech that Israel jeopardizeds
hopes of peace in the Middle East by building settlements in the
occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
While Britain voted for the UN resolution that so angered Netanyahu and
says that settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, a
spokesman for May said that it was clear that the settlements were far
from the only problem in the conflict.
In an unusually sharp public rebuke of Obama's top diplomat, May's
spokesman said that Israel had coped for too long with the threat of
terrorism and that focusing only on the settlements was not the best way
to achieve peace between Jew and Arab.
London also took particular issue with Kerry's description of
Netanyahu's coalition as "the most right-wing in Israeli history, with
an agenda driven by its most extreme elements."
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"We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of
the democratically-elected government of an ally," May's spokesman said
when asked about Kerry 70-minute speech in the State Department's
auditorium.
The U.S. State Department said it was surprised by the remarks from
May's office and said Kerry's comments were in line with Britain's own
policy. It pointedly also thanked Germany, France, Canada, Jordan,
Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates for
support.
TRUMP AND MAY?
Britain has long cherished its so-called "special relationship" with the
United States as a central pillar of its foreign policy, but May has
struggled to build relations with Trump's transition team.
Following his election, Trump spoke to nine other world leaders before
he spoke to May while he caused astonishment in London when he suggested
that Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage should be Britain's ambassador to
Washington.
By openly criticising Kerry, who will leave office in just weeks, May
moves British policy closer to Trump than its other European allies such
as Germany and France.
Trump has denounced the Obama administration's treatment of Israel and
promised to change course when he is sworn in on Jan. 20.
"We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and
disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not
anymore," Trump said in a series of tweets. "Stay strong Israel, January
20th is fast approaching!"
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![](../images/123016pics/news_p25.jpg)
Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks on Middle East peace
at the Department of State in Washington December 28, 2016.
REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/30/images/ads/current/stclara_christmas_LDA_111914.png)
Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has come out in
favour of the Kerry speech while France holds a Middle East
conference next month in Paris.
But Australia has distanced itself from Obama's stance on Israel,
ABC reported.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was convinced peace with
Israel was achievable but demanded that Israel halt settlement
building before talks restarted.
ISRAEL
Netanyahu has been witheringly critical of Kerry’s speech. In a
statement released shortly after it was delivered, Netanyahu accused
Kerry of bias and said Israel did not need to be lectured to by
foreign leaders.
Netanyahu said he looked forward to working with Trump.
Kerry "obsessively dealt with settlements", Netanyahu said in his
response, and barely touched "the root of the conflict – Palestinian
opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries."
In Israel, Kerry’s speech has played into the hands of Israel’s
far-right national-religious movement, led by Naftali Bennett, the
education minister, who is in Netanyahu’s cabinet but very critical
of Netanyahu and is trying to position himself as a future potential
leader.
Bennett’s party, Jewish Home, wants to annexe large parts of the
West Bank and openly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state. He
is advocating for more settlements and the legalisation of outpost
settlements, which even the Israeli government considers illegal.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/30/images/ads/current/mcquellons_lda_LUAL_2016.png)
"This [Obama] administation's policy has left the Middle East up in
flames," Bennett said after Kerry's speech. "The one free democracy
has been thrown under the bus - and that's Israel."
(Additional reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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