Cruz: Kerry must disavow spokesman’s remarks — or resign

Cruz was referring to State Department spokesman John Kirby, who said this week that both Israelis and Palestinians are at fault in the escalating violence in Israel.

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In recent weeks, seven Israeli Jews have been stabbed to death after Palestinians, many of them young, have taken to the streets with sharp objects in tow.

However, the State Department has attempted to blame Israel for fostering these attacks.

Kerry on Thursday condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, saying there was no justification for violence and offering a more full-throated support for the Jewish state than previous US statements.

Amman may “soon” host a three-way meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and officials from the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as the USA top diplomat is travelling to the region in an attempt to ease the mounting tension between Palestinians and Israelis.

“Once again, Sec. Kerry and his staff have proven themselves utterly unfit for the positions they hold”, he added.

Cruz called on Kirby to retract the remark or resign, and on Kerry to “immediately disavow these remarks or resign”. R-Texas, a candidate for president, called on Kerry to resign.

State Department spokesman John Kirby.

Cruz has been calling for Kerry to resign since April 2014 for suggesting that Israel could become an “apartheid state” if it did not give in to Palestinian demands.

This time around, Kerry prompted outrage when he blamed a new bout of violence from Palestinian terrorists on “settlement” growth.

In his Harvard lecture this week, Kerry determined that “there’s an increase in the violence because there’s this frustration that’s growing”.

“It is absolutely disgusting and shameful that the Obama Administration not only refuses to stand strong with our ally in Israel, but actually has the audacity to claim that the Israelis are guilty of terrorism”, Mr. Zeldin said in a release on Thursday.

Abbas said earlier that the provocations of settlers against the Palestinian people under the protection of the Israeli army is the main fuel of the current escalation.

“Well, I would say certainly individuals on both sides of this divide are… have proven capable of and in our view guilty of acts of terror”, he said.

“We’re always concerned about credible reports of excessive use of force against civilians, and we routinely raise our concerns about that”.