Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would work with Secretary of State John Kerry to advance peace talks with the Palestinians following an Israeli government official’s assertion that the ruling coalition opposes a two-state solution.
“Together we will try to advance a way to find an opening for negotiations with the Palestinians with the goal of reaching an agreement,” Netanyahu said June 9 at the start of the regular weekly Cabinet meeting. “This agreement will be based on a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, and on solid security arrangements based on the IDF.”
Kerry was scheduled to arrive in Israel this week for his fifth visit to the region in an attempt to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, but he delayed his trip.
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon is sticking by his statements, made in an interview on June 5 with the Times of Israel news website, in which he said the Likud Party and the governing coalition are opposed to a two-state solution and would block a vote on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Danon reiterated his statements in an interview with Army Radio on June 9, saying: “Oy vey! Is it such a criminal offense to oppose a two-state solution?” — jta