During a hearing held today (Tuesday) in the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Secretary of State accused Israel of blowing up the diplomatic negotiations.
He described the Palestinian appeal to international treaties as a response to the steps taken by Israel: publishing a tender for 700 housing units in Jerusalem and not releasing Palestinian prisoners on the day they were supposed to be released, although he concluded by saying that "both sides took negative steps.".
""The prisoners were not released on the scheduled date, three days passed, and then when we were almost at a deal, a tender was announced for 700 housing units in the territories – and boom, it was over.".
At the same time, Kerry expressed hope that the parties "will find a way back to talks.".
Kerry added that he is being criticized for dealing with the issue and devoting time to it "over other international issues," while "the parties themselves don't want to do it. But the parties do want to do it," he insisted, "and they are talking to each other to get over this hurdle.".
""If we don't deal with this now, it won't be easier in the future to achieve a peace agreement," he explained during the hearing, concluding by saying: "This issue has an impact on our lives here in this country.".
At the same time, he added and clarified: "There is a limit to the amount of time that President Obama and I can invest in this issue, given the other challenges around the world, especially if the parties cannot commit to showing seriousness," he said.
The explanation Kerry gave to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee differs from the line presented in recent days by government ministers and officials close to the prime minister, who tried to point to Palestinian reluctance as the main reason for the breakdown in the negotiations.
The one who was quick to respond to the comments was Economy Minister Naftali Bennett. "Israel will never apologize for its construction in Jerusalem," he clarified, adding: "I heard that they defined the construction in Jerusalem as a 'boom.' For many years, they tried with booms and explosions to prevent us from living in the eternal capital of the Jewish people. That will not happen. Construction in Jerusalem is not a boom, construction in Jerusalem is Zionism.".
This evening, Kerry will meet with US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and update them on the crisis in the talks.
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