Biden also singled out Palestinian leaders, including Abbas, for declining to condemn specific acts of terrorism carried out against Israelis, in a nod to the seven-month wave of Palestinian stabbings and other attacks. He said he didnt know whether Mondays bus explosion that wounded scores in Jerusalem was a terrorist attack, but added that the U.S. condemns misguided cowards who resort to violence.
Biden, in a speech to the advocacy group J Street, offered a grim outlook for peace efforts, reflecting dim hopes for progress during the remainder of https://www.allied.com/household-moving-company/household-moving the Obama administration. Although he said Israelis and Palestinians shared blame for undermining trust and shirking responsibility, he was emphatic in his critique of Netanyahus government, suggesting his approach raised profound questions about how Israel could remain both Jewish and democratic.
WASHINGTON Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged overwhelming frustration with Israels government on Monday and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus administration has led Israel in the wrong direction, in an unusually sharp rebuke of Americas closest ally in the Middle East.
No matter what legitimate disagreements the Palestinian people have with Israel, there is never justification for terrorism, Biden said. No leader should fail to condemn as terrorists those who commit such brutalities.
I firmly believe that the actions that Israels government has taken over the past several years the steady and systematic expansion of settlements, the legalization of outposts, land seizures theyre moving us and more importantly theyre moving Israel in the wrong direction, Biden said.
The vice presidents remarks to J Street, a dovish Israel advocacy group that frequently criticizes Netanyahu, came at the height of a campaign season in which candidates have been scrutinized over their adherence to traditionally stalwart U.S. support for Israel. Ahead of Tuesdays primary in New York, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has sparked controversy by saying the U.S. should be even-handed and mustnt always say that Netanyahu is right.
http://nypost.com/2016/04/19/biden-slams-netanyahu-moving-israel-in-the-wrong-direction/
Bidens tough talk about a key U.S. partner reflected diminishing patience within the White House as President Barack Obamas term nears an end, compounded by deep disagreements over Iran and a strained relationship between leaders. In recent weeks, the Obama administration has left open the possibility that it could support or at least not block a U.N. resolution laying out parameters for a future peace deal, a possibility Israel has railed against.
Biden, who met in March with both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said he came away from that trip discouraged about prospects for peace anytime soon. Still, he said the U.S. is obliged to guarantee Israels security and to push them as hard as we can toward a two-state solution despite our sometimes overwhelming frustration with the Israeli government.
There is at the moment no political will that I observed from either Israelis or Palestinians to go forward with serious negotiations, Biden said.
May your views begin to once again become the majority opinion in the Knesset, Biden said.
In another dig at Netanyahu and his Likud party, Biden singled out for praise Stav Shaffir, a young member of Israels parliament and a Netanyahu critic from the left wing of Israeli politics.
That reality is dangerous, Biden added.