Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, November 09, 2013

Kerry Scolds Israel For West Bank Occupation

In Jerusalem to rekindle negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, Secretary of State John Kerry dropped his usual diplomatic air in an interview this week, blaming Israel for the lack of progress, according to the Times of Israel.

Kerry said Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank suggests it's not committed to peace.

“If we don’t end the presence of Israeli soldiers perpetually within the West Bank, then there will be an increasing feeling that if we cannot get peace with a leadership that is committed to non-violence, you may wind up with leadership that is committed to violence,” Kerry said in a joint Israeli-Palestinian television interview.

Kerry, in his unusually sharp comments, suggested that unless Israel makes a more concerted effort toward peace, Middle East tensions will intensify. “If we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel [and an] increasing campaign of delegitimization of Israel,” he said, according to the Times of Israel account.

Answering a question from an Israeli journalist, Kerry acknowledged Israelis may have been troubled by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's release of Palestinian prisoners as a way of building trust in peace talks, according to a Washington Post account of the interview.

"I have no illusions," Kerry said, adding, “The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a third Intifada?”

Following talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, Kerry travelled to Geneva to join the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: Andrew Hart

No comments:

Post a Comment