John Kerry Blames Netanyahu for Lack of Progress in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

President Obama’s eight years in office are nearly concluded, and he will soon be stepping down from his position and leaving the White House, along with the rest of his administration, including Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerry recently held his last annual conference at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, and according to The Times of Israel, Kerry’s message, though only implied, was clear: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for the continuing lack of stability concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kerry had to explain the U.S.’s continued failure to achieve a solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and The Times says he looked to shift the blame to Netanyahu, implying that it was the Israeli PM’s lack of leadership that prevented progress from being made.

Although he said that “Bibi and I are friends, we really are,” he offered no other praise of the Israeli PM.

Kerry made note of the steps toward peace taken by a number of Israel’s previous PM’s, including Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres, but Netanyahu’s name was conspicuously left out.

Kerry also stressed how invested the Obama administration has been in securing peace and supporting Israel. Additionally, he praised Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as a leader “committed to nonviolence.”

It remains to be seen what position the Trump administration will take with regards to Israel, and how the new (not yet named) secretary of state will handle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Publication date: December 5, 2016