Kerry says no way to avoid need for peace deal with Palestinians

John Kerry says the US now has “an opportunity to redefine the Middle East.”

He says he has talked to Netanyahu “more than 375 times,” totaling “more than 130 hours,” over his term as secretary of state so far, and that’s only the public tally. His wife has even complained that he spends more time talking to Netanyahu than talking to her.

“Bibi and I are friends — we really are,” he says, recalling spending time with the future Israeli leader while at Harvard.

“I speak as an unapologetic friend of Israel,” Kerry say, citing the bump in aid to the Jewish state under the Obama administration, which totals more than half the total foreign aid the US doles out, as well as the support Washington gave to Israel at various international forums.

“We have never shied away from vetoing a resolution at the UN, anything at UNESCO — you name it,” he says.

“I want to be clear about my passion fore this dream,” he says, meaning Israel. But, “I have to tell you the truth. I have to share with you facts and describe to you why I am concerned. I come to you as someone who’s concerned for the safety and security of Israel.”

Kerry says he wants to defend Israel’s “need for security,” and that any “questions” the US administration raises about Israel’s policies in the West Bank are due to “concern.”

He praises the Jewish state’s prowess in agriculture and technology as a potential powerful bridge to the Arab world.

“The issue is how do you get from here to there,” he says. “There will be no separate peace between Israel and the Arab world.”

What he means is that Israel won’t be able to circumvent the need to sign a deal with the Palestinians by going directly to the Arab world. The statement could be an allusion to Netanyahu’s earlier comments on a “regional” solution.

“There’s a basic choice that has to be made by Israelis, by the leadership of Israel… and that is, is there going to be continued implementation of settlement policy, or is there going to be separation, two states.”

Kerry goes on to discuss the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, specifically the settlements that are beyond Israel’s security barrier, where tens of thousands of settlers live, and the illegal outposts, “dozens” of which he predicts Jerusalem will soon legalize.

“Most of these outposts are considered to be built on what is Palestinian private land,” he says.

— Eric Cortellessa contributed.