PM told US secretary of state to wait until after he had formed a new coalition; my trip ‘was going to happen sooner,’ confirms Kerry
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US Secretary of State John
Kerry in Jerusalem, Thursday, December 5, 2013 (photo credit: Kobi
Gideon/GPO/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US
Secretary of State John Kerry to hold off from visiting Israel earlier
this year because the Israeli leader was busy trying to form a
coalition, Channel 2 reported on Sunday.
Shortly
after the March 17 elections, Kerry requested to convene with Netanyahu
on regional affairs, including peace negotiations with the Palestinians
that have been stalled since 2014.
But Netanyahu indicated to Kerry that the
timing was not right and he preferred to delay the meeting until after
he had hammered out a new coalition, a task he has yet to complete.
There was no immediate confirmation from American officials.
But speaking to Channel 10 in an interview
aired Sunday night, Kerry said he hoped to visit Israel in the coming
weeks, and indicated that he had planned to come earlier. “I look
forward to traveling there and visiting,” he said. “It was going to
happen sooner; it may happen now in the next weeks when they get a
government.”
Netanyahu has yet to form a new government, a task he has only until Thursday to complete.
Netanyahu’s rebuffing of Kerry came amid a
nadir in ties between Washington and Jerusalem over disagreements on how
to tackle Iran’s nuclear program, and US frustration with the lack of
progress on peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
US-brokered peace talks stalled last year
after a nine-month effort when Abbas agreed to sign a unity pact with
Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas, and amid a dispute over prisoner
releases and settlements.
In the Channel 10 interview, Kerry said he
hoped Netanyahu was committed to a two-state solution, and praised the
work the prime minister had put in to reach an agreement.
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