US responds to Israel uproar, says Kerry never called for boycott
02/02/2014 13:34
US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Munich Security Conference Photo: REUTERS
With Israeli politicians pouncing on US Secretary of State John Kerry
for allegedly encouraging a boycott against Israel, the State
Department issued a statement Sunday urging that Kerry's words be
portrayed "accurately."
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Kerry has a "proud record of over three decades of steadfast support for Israel's security and well-being, including staunch opposition to boycotts.
Just last year, while briefing Foreign Ministers at an EU conference in Vilnius on his peacemaking efforts, he urged them to refrain from implementing these types of measures."
Psaki said that at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday Kerry "spoke forcefully in defense of Israel's interests, as he consistently has throughout his public life. In response to a question about the peace process, he also described some well-known and previously stated facts about what is at stake for both sides if this process fails, including the consequences for the Palestinians. His only reference to a boycott was a description of actions undertaken by others that he has always opposed."
Kerry has always expected opposition and difficult moments in the process, the statement read, "but he also expects all parties to accurately portray his record and statements."
In Munich on Saturday, Kerry said, "Today's status quo, absolutely to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained," he said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "It is not sustainable. It is illusionary. You see for Israel there is an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it, there is talk of boycott and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?"
Kerry's comments were similar to ones he made during a television interview during one of his visits in November, though this time he did not warn, as he did then, at the outbreak of a third intifada.
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State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Kerry has a "proud record of over three decades of steadfast support for Israel's security and well-being, including staunch opposition to boycotts.
Just last year, while briefing Foreign Ministers at an EU conference in Vilnius on his peacemaking efforts, he urged them to refrain from implementing these types of measures."
Psaki said that at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday Kerry "spoke forcefully in defense of Israel's interests, as he consistently has throughout his public life. In response to a question about the peace process, he also described some well-known and previously stated facts about what is at stake for both sides if this process fails, including the consequences for the Palestinians. His only reference to a boycott was a description of actions undertaken by others that he has always opposed."
Kerry has always expected opposition and difficult moments in the process, the statement read, "but he also expects all parties to accurately portray his record and statements."
In Munich on Saturday, Kerry said, "Today's status quo, absolutely to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained," he said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "It is not sustainable. It is illusionary. You see for Israel there is an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it, there is talk of boycott and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?"
Kerry's comments were similar to ones he made during a television interview during one of his visits in November, though this time he did not warn, as he did then, at the outbreak of a third intifada.
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