After accusing Israel of stalling negotiations with the Palestinians yesterday, the US State Department tried to soften John Kerry's words.
According to a clarification he issued shortly after his remarks were published, "Kerry was very clear and said that both sides took unhelpful steps. Kerry is not in any way engaging in a blame game. He even mentioned Prime Minister Netanyahu's name as one who made courageous decisions throughout the process. Now is the time for the parties and their leaders to determine whether to continue in this direction.".
Kerry spoke at a debate held in the American Senate: "The prisoners were supposed to be released on Saturday. A day passed, another day passed, and then on the third day at noon an announcement was made about the construction of 700 housing units in Jerusalem - and poof. Everything exploded.".
At the same time, Israel found it difficult to convince itself that his words did not point the finger at Israel, as more to blame than the Palestinians for the impasse in the negotiation process. Officially, Israeli officials sought to address Kerry's words in which he blamed "both sides" for the impasse in which the talks had reached.
This morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed all government ministries to avoid any meetings with any Palestinian official. In doing so, he effectively halted any possibility of cooperation, including economic cooperation. The only coordination that continues to take place between the parties is on security issues, as well as meetings for which Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is responsible.
It should be noted that after the Palestinian Authority applied to the international treaty for recognition, Israel began canceling benefits and concessions that were already on the verge of being implemented, as well as freezing benefits that were on the verge of final approval.
Among other things, the permit for the establishment of 3G infrastructure for Palestinian cellular networks in the West Bank was revoked, the permit for the expansion of the Palestinian cellular company "Watania"'s operations into the Gaza Strip was revoked, and more.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
