Middle East

Kerry speech biased against Israel - Binyamin Netanyahu

PM accuses Kerry of ignoring ‘root of conflict - Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state’

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu pictured in Rhavat Ronit, south of Netanya, Israel, December 24th, 2016. File photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu pictured in Rhavat Ronit, south of Netanya, Israel, December 24th, 2016. File photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Wed Dec 28 2016 - 20:11

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said US secretary of state John Kerry's Middle East speech on Wednesday was biased against Israel.

In a statement in English issued by his office, Mr Netanyahu said: "Like the Security Council resolution that Secretary Kerry advanced in the UN, his speech tonight was skewed against Israel."

The speech, he added, was a “great disappointment”.

The Israeli leader said Mr Kerry "obsessively dealt with settlements", which the United States strongly opposes.

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Mr Netanyahu also accused Mr Kerry of barely touching upon “the root of the conflict - Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries”.

Meanwhile, president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has responded to Mr Kerry's speech by saying he is ready to resume Middle East peace talks if Israel freezes its construction of settlements.

Agencies