Clinton: Possible IS gains if Palestinian leadership vacuum

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, insisted Sunday that his country is not heading toward becoming a binational state, rejecting a warning to that effect by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerry warned Israel on Saturday about the dangers of the possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority, saying it would lead to a situation that would threaten the security of Israel and the Palestinian people. If that were to happen, Kerry said, Israel would be forced to assume all governance in the West Bank and potentially accept a one-state solution that would compromise Israel’s future as a democratic, Jewish state.

An Israeli soldier shoots a Palestinian holding a knife after he stabbed another Israeli soldier, seen kneeling, during clashes in Hebron, West Bank on Friday, October 16, 2015.

The auto involved in Sunday’s attack sits badly damaged on a Jersualem street.

Regarding Syria, where Israeli leaders have accused the Obama administration of insufficient investment in ending its civil war, Clinton echoed a key Israeli demand: That allied forces simultaneously work to defeat both the Assad regime, backed by Iran, and militant Islamist Sunnis.

Human rights groups, meanwhile, including Amnesty International, have indicated that Israeli forces have used a “shoot-to-kill” policy against alleged Palestinian attackers – even when the latter didn’t represent an immediate danger.

“The continued settlement growth raises honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions and will only make separating from the Palestinians much more hard”, he said.

“Indictments are a rarity when Israeli soldiers or settlers resort to violence against Palestinians and investigations can last for years before being closed absolving perpetrators of any wrongdoing”, Brad Parker, attorney and worldwide advocacy officer at Defense for Children global – Palestine (DCIP), told Al Jazeera.

Israel’s left wing has favored a pullout from most of the areas, hoping this will bring Israel recognition and peace in the region.

The Palestinians are also frustrated by the failure of decades of peace talks to deliver them an independent state and the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and east Jerusalem, with many also losing faith in the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. That’s because while Israel proper _ the area defined by 1949 cease-fire lines that ended the war surrounding Israel’s establishment _ has roughly 6.3 million Jews and 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. Eventually the situation may become irreversible, with the Palestinians abandoning efforts to set up their own state and instead demanding annexation and voting rights as citizens of a single “binational” state.

“Israel has violated all signed agreements, stopped negotiations, and erased the principles of the two-state solution”, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat asserted after Israel said it planned to exclude the European Union from the peace process. The army would maintain its current positions until a better alternative emerged.