Until now, opinion of the Obama administration’s latest efforts to impose a “framework” for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been split along partisan and ideological lines. However, the Jersualem Post reported Sunday that Israel’s left-wing Meretz party, which for years has agitated for territorial concessions to the Palestinians, blasted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “of making major mistakes in the peace process.”
Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On “joined right-wing ministers Moshe Ya’alon, Yuval Steinitz, Gilad Erdan, Naftali Bennett, and Uri Ariel, as well as the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, in slamming Kerry,” the Post‘s Gil Hoffman reported. Gal-On’s complaint is different from the others: she is upset that with the “framework,” Kerry is giving those who do not want to seek peace an excuse to reject an imperfect deal.
“I think the US is surrendering to rejectionists on both sides by letting them express reservations,” Gal-On said. “A framework with reservations is a farce. It will allow everything the Americans did so far to fall by the wayside, while both sides stall without paying a political price.”
Gal-On said Kerry “has good intentions” and has used the proper resources to advance the diplomatic process. She expressed sympathy for the criticism he has faced from both the Israeli Right and the Palestinians but did not refrain from expressing her own frustration with him, even on personal terms.
“Everyone who comes thinks he invented the wheel,” Gal-On said. “I’m not looking to attack the Americans. I respect them, but their policies are incorrect.”
The Israeli left wants Kerry to apply more pressure to both sides. But such is the contempt for, and frustration with, the Obama administration that even its allies have lost faith in its leadership.
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