Kerry: Israel has right to defend itself against Palestinian terror attacks

Kerry condemned the recent spate of attacks on Israelis. Even centrist doves in opposition to Netanyahu, such as Isaac Herzog’s Labor party, are largely in support of holding onto the main settlement blocks.

The day before, an Israeli security guard repeatedly shot two Palestinian girls aged 14 and 16 after knocking them to the ground, killing one.

The U.S. official, whose last visit to Israel was a year ago, said he plans to talk with Netanyahu on what moves should be taken “to push back terrorism” and “restore calm” regarding the Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Ahmad Majdalani, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Xinhua that the Palestinian side doesn’t see any “serious indications” to the resumption of peace talks, or at least implementing the bilateral agreement.

“Clearly no people anywhere should live with daily violence, with attacks in the streets, knives, or scissors, or cars”, he said.

None of the leaders themselves offered any encouragement that peace might be possible right now.

“I know that the situation for Palestinians in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in Gaza is, at this moment, very dire, that there are extraordinary concerns, obviously, about the violence”, Kerry said, according to the US Department of State. The attacker was killed by security forces.

One Israeli was killed & three others injured in two separate stabbing assaults on Monday., in accordance to officers. About 90 Palestinians have been killed in that period, most shot by Israeli forces while trying to carry out attacks.

“I condemn the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu”, said the 60-year-old Erekat, who will participate in Tuesday’s talks. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton made unsuccessful attempts at brokering a two-state solution during their final months in office. Ahead of his trip, Kerry conceded he was coming without the ambitious agenda of past visits and was primarily focused on stemming the violence.

Israel says the recent violence stems from Palestinian incitement and incendiary videos on social media.

Mr Netanyahu said the USA was “a friend in our common effort to restore stability, security and peace”.

“We are deeply concerned about Syria, about Daesh, about regional unrest”, the secretary said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State militant group.

During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John Kerry says that Israel has both a right and an obligation to defend itself. Spokespeople for the defence ministry and security services declined to comment on the report. “The most important tool that we have is the perseverance, courage and determination to fight terrorism”.

The Palestinians and the global community, including the US, reject all settlement activity as illegal or illegitimate.

Abbas demanded that the USA put pressure on Israel to “stop its aggression and provocations against the Palestinians”, the official said.

It said Israel’s Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot approved to conduct larger-scale detention campaigns in the West Bank in the aftermath of the current security deterioration.

The Civil Administration, which acts as the IDF’s liaison to the Palestinian population in the West Bank, is considering the possibility of transferring some 10,000 dunams (about 3.8 square miles) of land now under Israeli control to the Palestinian Authority, Channel 2 reported Tuesday. The script is well-trodden, with Kerry likely to ask both sides to avoid provocative actions.