Kerry’s boycott warning irks Israel
Print Edition
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rejected United States Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning against a growing boycott movement against the Jewish state should peace talks with the Palestinians fail, while some of his Cabinet ministers lashed out angrily, saying the stance undermined Israel’s legitimacy and the chances of reaching a peace agreement.
The brush-up comes as Israel is negotiating with the Palestinians against a backdrop of increasing pressure to reach a deal, coupled with a growing call for boycotting Israel over its settlements in areas it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
A small but growing number of European businesses and pension funds have begun to drop investments or limit trade with Israeli firms involved in the West Bank settlements. At a security conference in Germany, Kerry warned that a breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian talks would accelerate this trend and could threaten Israel’s economic prosperity and its safety.
“You see for Israel there’s an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There are talk of boycotts and other kinds of things,” Kerry said. “Today’s status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained. It’s not sustainable. It’s illusionary.”
At the opening of his weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said international pressure on Israel would backfire and only cause the Palestinians to harden their positions.
“Attempts to impose a boycott on the State of Israel are immoral and unjust. Moreover, they will not achieve their goal.”
While Netanyahu refrained from taking aim at Kerry, some ministers were more direct. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz, of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, called Kerry’s comments “offensive and unfair.”
“You can’t expect the state of Israel to conduct talks with a gun pointed to its head.”
Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, from the religious, pro-settler Jewish Home party, said all “the advice givers” should know that Israel will not abandon its land because of economic threats.
Tzipi Livni, Israel’s chief negotiator, came to Kerry’s defense, saying he was merely expressing concern for Israel’s future.
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