Responding to Kerry’s address on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Netanyahu pointed to a “radical shift in policy” by the US administration.

Secretary of State John Kerry’s address Wednesday afternoon at the State Department, “ostensibly” about bringing a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian, was “almost as unbalanced” as the anti-Israel resolution that was passed by the United Nations Security Council last Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged.

Kerry was essentially “condemning a policy of enabling Jews to live in their historic land and eternal capital, Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said.

The reality, he continued, is that Israelis have endured ongoing terrorism because of “mistaken policies that at the time won the thunderous applause of the world,” apparently referring to the many concessions made by Israel in pursuit of a peace agreement that only resulted in more bloodshed.

The Jewish people have “sought their place under the sun for 3,000 years and are not about to be swayed by mistaken policy,” Netanyahu asserted. “The only Jewish state” is a “sovereign state that is the master of its own fate.”

“Israelis do not need to be lectured about peace by foreign leaders,” the Israeli premier stated. “No one wants peace more than the people of Israel.”

The Israeli government is committed to solving differences with the Palestinians through direct negotiations, as was done with Egypt and Jordan, Netanyahu said.

US Went ‘Against its Own Policy’

The path of direct negotiations has always been Israel’s policy – and US policy, he added. By allowing the anti-Israel resolution to be passed last week at the UN, the US went “against its own policy,” the Israeli leader declared.

He then quoted Obama’s words at the UN in 2011, when the American president acknowledged that “peace is hard work. It will not come through statements and resolutions. If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now.”

Obama “was right…until last week,” Netanyahu said.

He also pointed out what appears to be a “radical shift in US policy on final status resolutions” by considering the Western Wall in Jerusalem “occupied Palestinian territory.”

Leaked Egyptian News Report ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

Furthermore, contrary to denials on the part of the US administration, there is “absolute incontestable evidence that the US organized, advanced and brought the [anti-Israel] resolution to the United Nations Security Council.” The leaked information about it from an Egyptian newspaper is just the “tip of the iceberg,” Netanyahu said, adding that he now looks forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump “to mitigate the damage this resolution has done,” and he hopes that the “outgoing Obama administration will prevent any more damage…in its waning days.”

“If the US is NOW true to its word,” Netanyahu continued, “it should come out and say it will not allow any more resolutions against Israel at the UN and stop this game of charades.”

“The conflict is not about houses or communities. It is and has always been about Israel’s very right to exist… Persistent refusal to accept the Jewish state is the core of the conflict, and its removal is the key to peace. Rejection of Israel and support for terror are what the nations of the world should focus on if they truly want to advance peace,” Netanyahu concluded.

By: Terri Nir, United with Israel

Source: United with Israel