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2-state solution 'only way' for lasting peace between Israelis, Palestinians - Kerry 2-state solution 'only way' for lasting peace between Israelis, Palestinians - Kerry
(about 1 hour later)
Secretary of State John Kerry laid out the US proposal for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, less than a month before the Trump administration takes office and at a low point in US-Israeli relations.Secretary of State John Kerry laid out the US proposal for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, less than a month before the Trump administration takes office and at a low point in US-Israeli relations.
Kerry’s speech is widely seen as an attempt to set the Obama administration’s Middle East policy in stone before the January 20 changeover. President-elect Donald Trump has been vocally supportive of Israel and vowed a change of policy after his inauguration.Kerry’s speech is widely seen as an attempt to set the Obama administration’s Middle East policy in stone before the January 20 changeover. President-elect Donald Trump has been vocally supportive of Israel and vowed a change of policy after his inauguration.
“2-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians,” Kerry said emphasizing that it was the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. “The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians,” Kerry said, adding that it was also the only way to ensure Israel’s future as both a Jewish and democratic state.
READ MORE: Kerry’s Mid-East speech will ‘ensure chaos lasts after Obama admin’ – Israeli minister
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Washington of conspiring against his country by not blocking the Egyptian resolution condemning Israeli settlements at the UN Security Council last week. The State Department has dismissed the accusation as “just not true.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Washington of conspiring against his country by not blocking the Egyptian resolution condemning Israeli settlements at the UN Security Council last week. The State Department has dismissed the accusation as “just not true.”
“The US did in fact vote in accordance with our values,” Kerry said. “No American administration has done more for Israel’s security than Barack Obama’s.” READ MORE: Kerry’s Mid-East speech will ‘ensure chaos lasts after Obama admin’ – Israeli minister
 Kerry reminded of the amount of military aid Israel has received from the US from Iron Dome to intelligence. “More than ½ of our entire global foreign military financing goes to Israel,” Kerry said. “The US did in fact vote in accordance with our values,” Kerry said, explaining the abstention. “No American administration has done more for Israel’s security than Barack Obama’s.”
Kerry said that two-state solution is in danger despite popular support. “Polls of Israelis and Palestinians show there is still strong support for a 2-state solution in theory. They just don’t believe it can happen,” Kerry said. The secretary of state also pointed out the amount of military aid Israel has received from the US, from military intelligence to the Iron Dome missile defense program. 
Kerry said that proliferation of settler outposts illegal not only by Oslo Accords, but also under Israel’s own laws, often located on private Palestinian land and strategically located in places designed to make the 2-state solution impossible. “More than half of our entire global foreign military financing goes to Israel,” Kerry said.
If this happens, it will undermine regional security and rights of millions of people. The two-state solution is in danger despite popular support. “Polls of Israelis and Palestinians show there is still strong support for a two-state solution in theory. They just don’t believe it can happen,” Kerry said.
As the principal threat to the two-state solution, Kerry cited the proliferation of settler outposts, illegal not only under the Oslo Accords but also under Israel’s own laws, often located on private Palestinian land, and strategically located in places designed to make a separate Palestinian state impossible.
"If there is only one state, you’d have millions of Palestinians permanently living in segregated enclaves," Kerry said. “If Israel goes down the one-state path, it will never have true peace with the rest of the Arab world.”"If there is only one state, you’d have millions of Palestinians permanently living in segregated enclaves," Kerry said. “If Israel goes down the one-state path, it will never have true peace with the rest of the Arab world.”
Kerry said that since our 2011 veto, “over 30,000 settlement units advanced through some stage of the planning process”  and If US had vetoed December 2016 resolution, US would have given approval to this process. Yet since the 2011 US veto of a UN resolution with similar wording as the one recently passed, “over 30,000 settlement units advanced through some stage of the planning process.” A veto on Resolution 2334 would have meant US approval for this process, Kerry said.