Liberal Israeli article on Kerry's principles from the Israel speech and the Paris conference
Last edited Fri Feb 17, 2017, 05:29 AM - Edit history (1)
The Paris conference, which happened the week before Trump took office, received relatively little coverage in the US - lost in the end of year stuff, the incoming administration, and right wing anger over the US abstaining on the UN resolution that was written to be pretty much US policy. At the Paris conference, one nation after another for the most part backed the principles laid out by Kerry in his speech. It was also clear that Kerry's efforts over years to move the Arab states worked.
This Haaretz article is an Israeli left perspective of the Paris conference where many nations, including Saudi Arabia, backed a statement that was mostly based on Kerry's principles put forth in his speech. Because the article is premium, I have tried to explain the context, while quoting only 4 paragraphs that contain the meat of what happened in Paris.
The article speaks of how Kerry and his team politely rejected an offer by a foreign minister to take the Paris concluding statement to the UN, even though it could easily have worked, stating that there goal was to get international consensus on Kerry's principles. The result of the Paris convention was to do just that. The significance is explained by the article:
The American diplomats said that the one who stood out at the closed foreign ministers meeting in Paris was Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir.
Jubeir devoted a central part of his speech to the American secretary of state's plan and expressed full support for it without any reservations.
The Saudi position that was presented at the Paris conference with regard to the Jewish state and Kerry's other principles was a result of discrete contacts the outgoing American secretary of state held with Jubeir and other senior Saudi officials in the past two years, especially ahead of Kerry's end of December speech.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.766180
The article also spoke of the phone call then between Kerry and Netanyahu -- where Netanyahu, continued his public temper tantrum. IMO the anger is because Obama and Kerry acted on their own morality and American values -- rather than doing the bidding of the RW PM of Israel. IMO, where Netanyahu never meant the words he spoke in favor of two states; Kerry and Obama actually do.
One thing not mentioned here, but was mentioned in many articles written when Netanyahu was attacking the Obama administration and orchestrating the anger via AIPAC etc here is that one motive for the over sized reaction is that Netanyahu is under investigation for possible graft and accepting gifts for favors.