Posted on 07/21/2014 1:47:33 PM PDT by Dave346
In a notably critical interview, Michael Oren emphasizes that Israel would prefer Egyptian, not American, mediation
Michael Oren, who until recently served as Israels ambassador in Washington, said US envoy John Kerry was coming to the region to our chagrin.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected in Cairo Monday for discussions surrounding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The White House said Kerry would seek an immediate cessation of hostilities based on a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement, and stressed the need to protect civilian life both in Gaza and in Israel.
In strikingly outspoken comments to Channel 2 on Monday afternoon, Oren cited Kerrys long history of unsuccessful diplomacy in the region, the Obama administrations strained relations with Egypt, and the tension in ties between the Obama administration and Israel.
He said Kerry and the Obama administration have close ties with Qatar and Turkey, who are not on the best terms with Egypt right now.
Oren emphasized that Kerry, who made things worse with a live-microphone slip Sunday criticizing the scope of Israels operation, was not invited to come out here.
Its a hell of a pinpoint operation, its a hell of a pinpoint operation, Kerry told an aide over the phone on Sunday, seemingly criticizing the Israeli governments pledge to limit the scope of its ground invasion, Politico reported. Kerry used the same word, pinpoint, that was employed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Sunday interview with CNN.
Kerry decided on his own to come to the region, Oren said.
Orens comments followed remarks Sunday by Channel 2′s veteran Arab affairs analyst Ehud Yaari, one of Israels most respected commentators, who said that as far as Israel is concerned, the secretary of states ceasefire trip was premature and bad for Israel, and that he should have left it to the Egyptians to lead the ceasefire effort. Yaari said many people, including senior American officials, tried to convey this to Kerry.
This marks the continuing trend of the Obama administration to give credit to the Muslim Brotherhood, in this case Hamas, Yaari said, except that now its graver, because were in a war.
Kerry did defend Israels position over the weekend.
Kerry told NBCs Meet the Press that it Hamass attacks on Israel are unacceptable by any standard anywhere in the world and that Israel must protect its citizens.
In response to a question on ABCs This Week, Kerry dismissed claims that Israel was committing genocide as rhetoric that weve heard many, many times.
Kerry turned his answer into an excoriation of Hamas and continued, What they need to do is stop rocketing Israel and accept a ceasefire. Its very, very clear that theyve tunneled under Israel. Theyve tried to come out of those tunnels with people with handcuffs and tranquilizer drugs to capture Israeli citizens and hold them for ransom, or worse. Theyve been rocketing Israel with thousands of rockets.
Theyve been offered a ceasefire, and theyve refused to take the ceasefire. Even though Egypt and others have called for that ceasefire, theyve just stubbornly invited further efforts to try to defuse the ability to be able to rocket Israel.
Kerry, a combat veteran, said that the situation in Gaza was ugly, obviously, acknowledging that war is ugly, and bad things are going to happen, but he added that they not specifying whether he meant Hamas or the Palestinian Authority as a whole need to recognize their own responsibility.
We have offered to have a ceasefire and then negotiate the issues. Weve obviously shown our bona fides in the United States, and the president has put his presidency behind the effort to try to find peace in the region, he continued. So they need to join up and be responsible and accept a unilateral not a unilateral, but a multilateral ceasefire without conditions, and then we pledge to discuss all the underlying issues, which weve been trying to do for the last year-and-a-half.
This is an easy question to answer since it’s posted on the state department website.
Kerry has traveled 491,222 Miles in less than 17 months and is well on pace to break the record.
Record??
Who can be more useless Alex?
Take that, Lurch. You’re not wanted.
..................
Kerry is annoying. How far we've come in only a few years that Israel prefers Egyptian support to American.
Not to mention the fact that Egypt is happy to see Hamas’ capabilities degraded. And Egypt will likely keep the tunnels to the Sinai shut. The US hasn’t.
That’s one of the things I hope to change in my upcoming visit to the Middle East. Why, improved Egyptian and Israeli relations is a threat to the stability of the region. Next they might start cooperating for mutual defense and trading openly. First the Muslim Brotherhood is deposed, then better relationships with Israel, and the next thing you know, the Palestinians will be left out in the cold just because of a few thousand missiles, suicide bombings, kidnappings, going berserk in construction vehicles, booby trapped toys left for kiddies, and knifings, all directed at Israelis and Americans. They can’t dawn any new eras that we can’t take credit for!
I hope that was a “tongue in cheek” comment ... :-) ...
Kerry flies, peace dies.
A likely synopsis of Kerry’s thinking.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.